
Class _^jt^_35J 

Book.ji3 

Copyright 1*1? 

COFXRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



Vineyards of France 



% 



#? 



THE CULTIVATION OF 
VINEYARDS 

in Southwestern France 

By 
Alicia du Tont de S^mours 




New York: ^rentano's 
1920 



COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY BRENTANO S 




r^^ 



D. B. UPDIKE, THE MERRYMOUNT PRESS, BOSTON 



FEB ~2 \m 



0)CU605297 



I'o Myron T'. Herrick 
Ambassador to France 



viii Contents 




Part II 






Cultivation of the Vine 




I. 


l^he ''Parage" 


IS 


II. 


The Poles or Stakes 


8i 


III. 


Fertilizers — Man ures^ New Earths, 






and Marls 


' 85 




§ I . ^ality of Fertilizers 


85 




§ 1. Proper 'Time for Manuring 






the Vine 


87 




§3- ^antity of Manure to be 






used for Manuring Fine- 






yards 


90 


IV. 


Dressing the Vine 


94 




§ I. When to Dress the Vine 


94 




§ 2. Manner of Dressing the 






Vine 


98 


V. 


The First Tilling. Preliminary 






Observations. Vegetation 


112 




§ I. The Proper Tilling Ti?ne 


118 




§ 2. Tilling Methods 


129 


VI. 


Destru^ion of Weeds in Vine- 






yards 


136 


VII. 


The Fastening 


139 


VIII. 


Nipping Off the Buds 


147 



Contents ix 

Part III 

Accidents Affeding the Vine. Its 

Diseases and Harmful Inseds 

I. Accidents JffefNng the Vine 151 

§ I . ^he Frost-Bite 1 5 1 

§ 2. Winter Frosts 1 53 

§ 3. Spring Frosts 155 

§ 4. About Hail 1 6 1 
§ 5. Dropping Off and '^^acon" 1 63 

II. Diseases of the Vine 167 

III. Inserts Injurious to the Vine 171 

§ I . Vine-Grubs 1 7 1 

§ 2. Wine-Weevils 1 74 

§ 3. Beetles and Other InseSts 1 77 



The Vintage 

I. Preparations for the Vintage 183 

§ I. Wine-Press 183 

§ 2. iL2>;?j' 189 

§3. 'T'ubs and Casks 190 



X Contents 

II. IVine Casks 194 
§ I . Proper ^ime for Buying the 

Casks 194 
§ 2. ^ality and Making of the 

Casks 200 

III. Proper l!ime for Gathering the 
Grapes 209 

IV. How to Make Wine 214 

§ I. Sele^on of Grapes 215 

§ 2. Haw to Crush Grapes iio 
§ 3 . How Far the T'ub Process 

should be Pushed 222 
§ 4. How Long Grapes Picked 
from the Bunch should be Per- 
mitted to Boil 230 

V. How to Regulate the Wine-Press 23 5 

VI. How to I'reat New Wine 246 

VII. White Wine 253 

VIII. 'The Vine Espaliers 256 

IX. Rapes 262 

X. 'Temperature of the Wine Cellars 266 



£i6t of 3ffu6tcation6 



J Fineyard 


Facing Page 


Wine in Bottles 


84 ' 


An Arm of a Modernized Cellar 


111 


A Walled Vineyard 


140 


Wine Casks 


200 


Workers in the Fineyard 


212 


A ''Foudre" 


240 


Bottled Wine in Cellar 


270 



m 



'■'•The Grape that can with Logic absolute 
Life's leaden ^JPkletal into Gold transmute'' 



This study of Grape Culture was 
made in Orleans, Auvergne, and 
Perigord,where Romance breathes 
forever and Love never dies. 

A, DU p. DE N. 



VINEYARDS OF FRANCE 

pavtji 

CHAPTER I 

T/ie Soil and the Plant 

ACCORDING to the com- 
L mon saying, every soil does 
not bear every kind of fruit. It is, 
therefore, necessary to know the 
fruit suiting the soil in order to 
reap a bountiful crop. Experience 
only can serve as a guide in this 
connection. Only by experience 
has man been able to find out 
which is the proper crop for the 
different kinds of soil. 



4 Vinei/ardf of France 

The different layers are to be 
distinguished in every soil; first, 
the earth that is at the surface; 
second, the underlying bottom. 

For a soil to be favourable for 
the cultivation of the vine it is 
necessary, first, that the under- 
lying layer be permeable to water, 
for, as is the case with clay, 
were this underlying layer im- 
permeable, the vine would inev- 
itably perish, owing to excess 
humidity. Second, that the un- 
derlying layer should be deep; 
that is, located at two or three 
feet at least below the surface of 
the soil, otherwise the vine would 



Part I 5 

not find sufficient nourishment. 
Third, that it should not be so 
compad: as to prevent the vine 
from spreading its thickest roots 
through it. 

The most favourable soils are 
the heavy soils that have a deep un- 
derlying layer, and still more the 
loamy soils, the underlying layer 
of w^hich is composed of heavy 
earth. The vine finds in both all the 
nourishment it requires. It can 
live in such soils for two or three 
generations. These soils are the 
most suitable for the " Auvergne" 
vine. This is the vine which gives 
the best wine in this soil. 



Vineyards of France 



Fine chalk mixed with coarse 
sand is also satisfacSloiy for • the 
"Auvergne" vine. This applies 
also to the soil commonly called 
"Grouettes," which is a black 
earth resting on a harder bottom 
approximately of the same quality. 
However, the life of the vine in 
both instances is shorter. 

Most of the other soils are suit- 
able for the planting of the vine 
called " Fromente-black," like- 
wise described under the name of 
"Eunier," owing to the fa6i: that 
the under side of its leaves is cov- 
ered with a white down. This is 
the best vine, second only to the 



Part I 7 

"Auvergne" vine, and generally 
it gives a good yield. 

The " Fromente-black " is also 
planted in soils which would 
otherwise grow satisfactorily the 
"Auvergne" vine, when such 
soils are situated in low and damp 
locations, or when they adjoin 
woods or marshes. It withstands 
better than the other varieties the 
frost and mildew which are very 
prevalent in such locations. 

White grape vines are gener- 
ally planted in light sandy soils. 
They thrive better in such soils, as 
they do not require much nour- 
ishment. 



8 Vineyards of France 

CHAPTER II 

'Preparing the Soil 

IF the soil is new, it is suffi- 
cient to dig it a single time 
to a great depth during summer 
and to open the rows a few months 
afterwards. This is the operation 
called by the vine-growers " Ran- 
ger." The soil is then ready for 
the planting of the vine, which 
should take place either before the 
winter or in the course of the 
spring, according to the nature 
of the soil. 

If the ground were wooded, 
it would be possible, after having 
pulled out all the stumps, to plant 



Part I 9 

the vine in the course of the very 
first year; as with regard to the 
vine such ground would be con- 
sidered new soil. However, it 
is advisable not to plant the vine 
until the following year, in order 
to destroy completely by repeated 
diggings the roots which may 
have been left in the ground and 
which may prove injurious to the 
growth of the vines. If the soil 
has been planted previously with 
vines, it should be permitted to 
restat least one year and sometimes 
several years before replanting. In 
this connection one should follow 
the custom that prevails in the 



lo Vineyards of France 

different vine-growing districts, 
which custom is the result of long 
experience with the particular 
kind of soil prevailing in that 
district. 

With regard to heavy soils 
which are left to rest only for a 
year, such soils, in order not to 
leave them entirely uncultivated, 
may be planted with peas or other 
small grains, such as vetch or oats, 
but never with wheat or barley 
because such crops exhaust the 
soil. The other grains, on the con- 
trary, enrich the soil. 

Such soils as are allowed to rest 
for as long as three and four years 



Part I II 

owing to their being weak are 
planted with grass between the 
clearing of the ground and the 
planting of the vine. 

Whatever the nature of the soil 
before planting the vine, care 
should be taken that all weeds 
are destroyed. 

When replanting, it is neces- 
sary to turn the earth of the beds 
in a direction opposite to the pre- 
existing rows. In this way a por- 
tion of the old alleys may be cov- 
ered by the new beds. These old 
alleys may be considered as new 
earth, the largest roots being 
found in the beds. 



12 Vineyards of France 

It should be kept in mind that, 
first, the beds drawn from north 
to south are the most advanta- 
geous, since they receive more 
sunHght. Second, the beds should 
be so arranged as to facilitate the 
draining, as stagnant water would 
be liable to destroy the vines. One 
of these two reasons may lead the 
vine-grower to plant the vines in 
a parallel diredion to the old 
rows. 

It is possible when turning 
the earth to raise slightly the 
alley and the bed at the points 
where they are found to be low. 
For this purpose it is sufficient to 



Part I 13 

dump on them a small quantity 
of earth. 

However deep the digging 
done previous to the replanting, 
such digging should never reach 
the underlying layer. Care should 
be taken not to dig through this 
layer, as it serves the useful pur- 
pose of retaining rainwater while 
it takes no part in the nourishing 
of the vine. 

CHAPTER III 

Width of Beds 

BEFORE opening the rows, 
the first operation is to draw 
them on the ground in order to 



14 Vinei/ardf of France 

be sure that the alleys and the beds 
shall have a uniform dired:ion all 
through the ground in case the 
field used is square. All the vine 
stocks are planted along straight 
lines drawn by means of a cord. 
The stocks are equally spaced 
at a distance of two feet three 
inches. These straight lines are 
commonly described as rows. All 
the rows are likewise equally 
spaced at a distance of two feet 
six inches. 

The alternating spaces between 
two rows are called, respectively, 
bed and alley. 

The alley forms a kind of walk 



Part I 15 

between two rows. The vine- 
grower stands and walks on this 
alley when cultivating the soil. 

By the word "bed "there is des- 
ignated the earth existing on the 
side of and along the alley between 
two other rows. 

The earth intended for the 
planting should present a flat and 
equal surface after having been 
spaded. 

One begins by drawing or trac- 
ing on this ground by means of 
a cord the location of each row, 
following the instructions given 
herein. A five-foot stick having a 
notch in the middle is used to fix 



1 6 Vineyards of France 

the width of the alley and the bed, 
whereas the cord is used for mark- 
ing the direction of such alley and 
bed. 

For spacing the stocks there is 
generally used a new pole or stake, 
which should be four and a half 
feet long. The length of this pole 
or stake comprises, therefore, two 
vine stocks. By this means a uni- 
form configuration is insured for 
all the alleys and all the beds, pro- 
vided the field is square. 

After this preliminary tracing, 
since the vine stocks to be planted 
are to be bent towards the inside 
of the bed, there is dug up by 



Part I 17 

means of the spade the space in- 
tended to become the bed and the 
earth is thrown upon the space 
intended to become the alley. 

The earth thus thrown on the 
alley forms by its accumulation 
what the vine-growers call "Che- 
vaux" or ^'Chevalets," and it is 
used to cover the vine plants 
after they have been planted in 
the bed. 

If the field is not square, after 
all such ground has been uni- 
formly traced as is possible, the 
rest of the ground is divided into 
alleys and beds, narrower at one 
end than at the other, so that the 



1 8 Vinei/ards of France 

narrower end has only one row 
of stocks instead of two. 

Some vine-growers make all the 
beds with two rows; all the beds 
and all the alleys, however, being 
wider at one end than at the 
other. This arrangement is open 
to the same objection, the unsight- 
liness in the one case being as glar- 
ing as in the other. The use of ex- 
cessive land is to be deplored. 

Furthermore, such wide ends 
interfere with the proper digging 
of the ground, whereas the nar- 
row ends do not afford sufficient 
nourishment to the vine, which 
will eventually die out, while 



Part I 19 

at the other end it grows and 
thrives. 

Experience has shown that 
vines thus planted in good soils 
thrive and have a long life, find- 
ing therein a sufficient nourish- 
ment, the long shoots spreading 
all around the bed up to the pole 
or stake which is notched in the 
middle for supporting it. 

If the alley and the bed are 
more than five feet wide, first, 
the soil is not sufficiently occu- 
pied. Second, the beds being too 
wide, their cultivation is not so 
easy, and therefore they are liable 
to be but poorly plowed. 



20 Vineyardi of France 

If, on the other side, the width 
of the bed and the alley is less than 
five feet, the roots being too closely 
packed are injurious to one an- 
other and the vine suffers. It bears 
less fruit and has a shorter life. 
Furthermore, the shoots being un- 
able to spread as they should, one 
is compelled to prune them very 
short, which, of course, diminishes 
the yield. 

In weak soil, where the vine 
is to be replaced every twenty- 
five or thirty years, it is sufficient 
for the alley and the bed to have 
a width of four and a half feet, the 
vine stocks being spaced at a dis- 



Part I 21 

tance of twenty inches. The pe- 
riod during which the vine re- 
mains in the soil being compar- 
atively short, the roots do not make 
a great development and do not 
become sufficiently large to prove 
injurious to each other. 

In dry and burning soils straw 
is resorted to, which is intended 
to hold the water in order to af- 
ford more nourishment to the vine 
stocks. 

CHAPTER IV 
The Vine Plant 

THIS subject should be con- 
sidered as the most impor- 
tant in the cultivation of the vine 



22 Vineyards of France 

and as the one demanding the ut- 
most attention. There is no doubt 
but that the greatest injury that 
a vine-grower can infli6l upon 
the land-owner is to take advan- 
tage of him by supplying him 
with inferior plants. The plants 
may occupy the ground for five or 
six years before one is able to dis- 
cover that one has been misled. 
In such a case either these inferior 
plants are pulled out and replaced 
by new plants, which means a loss 
of ten or twelve years, useless ex- 
pense, and lost crops, or are left 
in the ground, which will mean 
that the land will be occupied by 



Part I 23 

a sterile vineyard which will bear 
no fruit. 

§1. SeleSiion of the Plant 

The best plant is the one taken 
from a stock giving a plentiful 
yield of high grade grapes. 

The plant is taken solely from 
young vines and on the wood of 
the year. 

The best plant is the one taken 
from a vine which is neither too 
young nor too liberally manured, 
and which bears fine grapes. 
Under such circumstances one is 
assured that the excellency of the 
grapes is due exclusively to the 



24 Vineyards of France 

excellency of the vine stock. It is 
quite possible for a young, well- 
manured vine to yield fine grapes 
simply on account of its youth and 
the abundance of dressing. 

An average vintage year is the 
most suitable for judging the com- 
parative qualities of the different 
stocks. In such a year the poor 
stocks bear inferior and scanty 
grapes. A good stock, on the con- 
trary, will always yield plenty of 
fine grapes. 

In order to be sure of obtaining 
a satisfactory plant, it will be advis- 
able to survey the vineyard from 
which the plant is to be taken one 



Part I 25 

or two weeks before the vintage, 
and to mark all the stocks carry- 
ing fine grapes. 

Such a survey may also be 
made after the vintage. If so, at- 
tention should be given the grape 
stalks left on the vines. If these 
stalks are short, hard, and thick, 
this shows that the grape berries 
were large and well nourished, 
and that, consequently, the stock 
which has produced such grapes 
is good. 

A further proof of the fine qual- 
ity of the wood is afforded by the 
knots, which should be round and 
spaced at very short intervals, and 



26 Vineyards of France 

the cores of which should be only 
slightly twisted. 

All the shoots of a stock are not 
equally good. The comparative 
goodness of the different shoots is 
ascertained by means of the fea- 
tures which have just been de- 
scribed. 

The thickest wood is not al- 
ways the best unless it presents 
the features described above. One 
should not let himself be deceived 
by thick and long shoots which 
bear a great resemblance to the 
barren branches of fruit-bearing 
vines. Such shoots are likely to 
produce more wood than fruit. 



Part I 27 

They arc easily distinguished by 
their knots, which are flat and 
spaced at long intervals. 

It is, therefore, clear that it 
is necessary that only the best 
stocks be selected throughout the 
vineyard and that the plant be 
obtained from the best shoots of 
each stock. 

The vine should be taken from 
a stock reared in a soil inferior in 
point of quality to the soil in w^hich 
the vine is intended to be planted. 
An intrinsically good plant will, 
of course, thrive when planted in 
a soil better than the one from 
which it originates. Of course, no 



28 Vineyards of France 

risk is run by planting it in a soil 
exa6i:ly similar to the one from 
which it originates; but it would 
be dangerous to plant it in an 
inferior soil, where it would cer- 
tainly die out, owing to the lack 
of proper nourishment. 

§ 2. Taking the Plant 

The suitable time for taking the 
plant is after the pole or stake has 
been removed and after the leaves 
of the vine have fallen off and the 
sap has disappeared; that is, at the 
end of November. 

No signs of frost should be no- 
ticeable when the plant is taken, as 



Part I 29 

frost is apt to injure the wound 
which is inflided upon the vine. 
Such a wound is Hable to cause 
serious injury unless it is afforded 
sufficient time to dry out before 
the frost sets in. 

Stridly speaking, it is pos- 
sible to take the plant after the 
frost has disappeared and before 
the setting in of the sap; that is, 
in February. It is best to take 
the plant at the time first men- 
tioned. 

The finest plant is the one cut 
at the greatest distance from the 
base of the shoot; it should be 
taken from the wood of the year. 



30 Vineyards of France 

The plant taken should not 
present traces of vine frost, as it 
is liable to make the wood too 
soft. This, of course, would make 
such wood liable to freeze or rot 
during the winter. 

The summer vine frost is due 
to lack of heat, caused by the shoot 
having found itself cut out from 
the sun or thoroughly enveloped 
by the leaves of the vine. Vine frost 
is caused also by cold rains or by 
hail. The winter vine frost is caused 
by hoar frost adhering to the wood 
and melting under the adlion of 
the sun. It burns the wood, and 
means death to the shoots on 



Part I 31 

which such melting has taken 
place. 

Each plant cut should be thor- 
oughly cleaned. 

After such cleaning the wound 
of each cutting should be coated 
with earth. The plant should not 
be allowed to bleed, as that will 
exhaust its strength. 

CHAPTER V 

'Planting the Vine 

IN sandy or gravelly soils, the 
underlying layer of which is 
not permeable, it is possible to 
plant and to interplant from the 
time of the fall of the leaves up 



32 Vineyards of France 

to the end of the winter without 
running the risk of the plant 
rotting. 

In heavy soils, more or less im- 
permeable to water, one should 
plant only in May. It is neces- 
sary to see that the planting is 
done in moderate weather, for if 
the planting is done during cold 
and rainy weather, the vines are sure 
to rot and get mouldy in the earth. 
If, on the other hand, the weather 
is too warm, the vines are liable to 
suiFer; that is, the bark becomes 
scorched near the surface of the 
earth. In either case the plant will 
certainly perish. 



Bin I 33 

The planting in medium soil, 
between impermeable heavy soils 
and permeable gravelly soils, is 
done in the course of April. Gen- 
erally, this soil is neither too dry 
nor too damp, but offers a medium 
condition. 

All the plants of the same grade 
should be planted together in the 
same plot. If this precaution is dis- 
regarded, it will become necessary 
to gather grapes on the plot several 
times in succession, since each 
kind of stock has its own ripen- 
ing time, some being earlier and 
some later. It is certainly inadvis- 
able to rely upon the carefulness 



34- Vineyards of France 

of the vintagers and to expert them 
to seledl and to gather only such 
grapes as are perfectly ripe and to 
leave behind the bunches which 
have not as yet reached the proper 
degree of maturity. Such a selec- 
tion requires too great an amount 
of care on their part. They are 
sure to make their selection in a 
thoughtless way. It results there- 
from that the wine loses some 
of its individual characteristics 
and acquires a more or less sour 
taste. 

However careful a vine-grower 
may be in obtaining his plants from 
the same kind of stock, some for- 



Part I 35 

eign plant is sure to find its way 
among the plants colledted; for 
instance, in "Auvernat" plants 
there will surely be found some 
white or "Fromente-black" plants. 
As soon as the mistake is discov- 
ered, the foreign stocks should 
be pulled out and replaced by 
trenches. 

The planting most generally 
resorted to is open row planting, 
and in fa6i: this is the only man- 
ner of planting which should be 
recommended. 

The spade and not the hoe 
should be used, since the hoe does 
not dig a sufficiently large hole 



36 Vineyards of France 

around the plant, which is neces- 
sary in order to afford the plant a 
sufficient quantity of loose earth 
through which it may spread its 
roots. 

The vines should be kept in a 
vessel full of water, and the stools 
should be taken out of the water 
only as they are needed, in order 
to avoid their being dried out by 
the heat and rendered useless. 

Each stool should be bent 
crosswise to the bed instead of 
lengthwise. All the earth of the 
bed having been previously loos- 
ened, the stool finds in it suf- 
ficient nourishment for all its 



Part I 37 

shoots, on both sides, whereas, if 
it were bent lengthwise, it could 
obtain nourishment from only one 
side, since the pathway is com- 
posed of hard ground. 

The part of the plant encom- 
passing the cutting wound should 
be bent by bringing it down 
toward the underlying layer. 

After the plant has been duly 
bent, it should be covered with 
good earth, loose and damp, 
and not with dry, lumpy earth. 
Afterward the ground should be 
stamped with the feet in order to 
make the earth close upon the 
shoots on all sides to enable them 



38 Vineyards of France 

to obtain the necessary nourish- 
ment. It should be seen that a 
healthy shoot is left above the 
ground, as it is through such 
shoots that the plant begins to 
grow. 

Although each bed is made up 
of two rows, nevertheless, a third 
half row is planted in the middle 
of each bed. This row is intended 
to supply replacements for the 
dying plants of the two rows 
along the alley, and constitutes a 
true nursery plot. 

Whenever the planted soil is 
exposed to frost and to blast, such 
a soil, even if sufficiently good for 



Part I 39 

the "Auvernat" stock, should 
be planted only with " Fromente- 
black." This latter has more resist- 
ance and is stronger, provided it 
is very closely pruned. 

CHAPTER VI 

Attention required by the Plant 

AFTER planting, as soon as 
L the shoots begin to grow, the 
plant should be slightly pruned. 
At that time one can easily dis- 
tinguish the good shoots from 
the bad and leave at least one 
good shoot above the surface 
of the earth. If this pruning is 
neglected, the strain on the plant. 



4-0 Vineyards of France 



compelled to nourish all its 
shoots, will become so great as to 
make it perish. 

Care should be taken that a 
good shoot is left above the 
ground. If the shoot which is ex- 
posed above the ground does not 
grow, it will be necessary to un- 
earth carefully with the finger 
another shoot. If this is not done, 
the wood of the plant will rot 
in the earth. 

Since the plant requires a mod- 
erately cool soil, it is necessary to 
water it to prevent its drying out 
and perishing in continuously 
hot weather. 



Part I 41 

Whenever the planting cannot 
be delayed any longer, owing to 
the advancing season, it will be 
necessary to water the earth at the 
time of planting, if it appears 
dry and scorched. If the heat per- 
sists, it will be necessary to water 
frequently after planting. 

When watering, the earth of the 
bed above the plant is dug with the 
spade in order to make a kind of 
funnel into which there is poured 
for each stool about one pint and 
a half of water. 

The plant which is being 
watered should not be exposed. 
The funnel is dug half-way down 



4-2 Vineyards of France 

between the plant and the surface 
of the earth. 

To facihtate this operation, it 
is advisable to place in the mid- 
dle of the nursery plot or ground 
an empty trough, which is filled 
with water from which the sprink- 
ling water is taken. 

As soon as the water has been 
absorbed by the earth, the funnel- 
shaped hole should be filled again 
in order to prevent the hardening 
of the wet earth under the adion 
of the sun. 

In damp and cool soils it is un- 
necessary and even dangerous to 
water the plant. Such watering is 



Part I 43 

likely to cause the rotting of the 
plant, owing to excess moisture. 
Watering is resorted to on dry soils 
planted in the course of the spring 
where it gives most satisfactory 
results. 

One should not be deterred 
from carrying out this work by 
considerations of the expense in- 
volved. This watering, by saving 
the plant, enables the vine-grower 
to secure a vintage a year earlier. 
Furthermore, the fad: should not 
be disregarded that the plant re- 
planted during the second year 
does not grow as well as the plant 
of the first year. 



44 Vineyards of France 

The plant requires frequent 
spading, in order to keep the earth 
loose and raised in such a way that 
it may be thoroughly permeated 
by air. 

Spading should be resorted to 
especially when weeds are noticed 
on the plot. Such weeds would 
certainly make the plant wither 
away by depriving it of the neces- 
sary nourishment. 

CHAPTER VII 

bulling out the Vine 

WHEN a vine is old and 
yields but a small quantity 
of low grade grapes in spite of 



Part I 45 

careful cultivation and tending, 
it is necessary to have it pulled 
out, since it is only a useless occu- 
pant of the ground. 

In heavy soils very old vines 
still give, at times, a plentiful grape 
yield; the berries, however, being 
smaller and shorter than the ber- 
ries of grapes of young vines. In 
such a case they may be preserved. 
The wine obtained from such 
stocks is the best. However, if a 
number of vacant spaces appear in 
the vineyard owing to the dying 
out of numerous old stocks, one 
should not hesitate to have the 
vineyard pulled out. By a6ling 



46 Vineyards of France 

otherwise the soil would be use- 
lessly occupied. 

In light soils the vine often be- 
comes exhausted after twenty-five 
or thirty years, and it is often ne- 
cessary to replace it. The proper 
time to pull out the vine is after 
the vintage and before the winter, 
when the soil is sufficiently damp 
to allow all the roots, at least 
the largest one, to be pulled out 
without breaking. 

If the soil is heavy, large lumps 
of earth are raised when pulling 
out the vine. It becomes necessary 
to break the lumps in order to 
allow the salts of melted snow and 



Part I 47 

rainwater to permeate them thor- 
oughly. 

CHAPTER VIII 

Two Methods of Layering 

EVEN in the best vineyards, 
now and then, some stocks 
die out. It is necessary to replace 
such stocks. In nurseries the 
empty spaces are filled by inter- 
planting — in young vineyards by 
one kind of layering and in old 
vineyards by another, as stated 
below. 

No special instructions are ne- 
cessary with regard to interplant- 
ing, since it does not differ from 
planting. 



^8 Vineyards of France 

§ I . First Method 

In a young growing vineyard, 
when interplanting would be likely 
to prove unsuccessful, the gaps 
are filled by layers. 

The method here is to bury 
the stock in such a way that the 
stump disappears, only the stools 
appearing above the ground at 
such places as are intended to be 
filled up. 

One of these stools is intended 
to take the place of the stock it- 
self, which has disappeared. The 
other stools are intended to fill the 
gaps on the left and on the right. 

The proper method of this lay- 



- Part I 49 

ering calls for the laying bare of 
the stump all around its base. This 
is done bymeansof a spade. After- 
ward the digging is carried on 
with a special instrument, called 
"croy," in order not to injure the 
roots. The stump is then bent so 
that it may be buried on the un- 
derlying layer. The longest stools 
are properly bent in order to lead 
them to the gaps furthest from the 
stump. Then a loop is made out 
of the youngest stool, which is the 
most flexible. The stool is carried 
under the stump and is buried in 
the bed. The stump rots in the 
earth and the looped stool takes 



50 Vineyards of France 

its place in the same way as the 
other shoots fill up the adjoining 
gaps. 

In the permeable soils the lay- 
erings maybe made before winter, 
provided the shoots are suffi- 
ciently flexible to permit of the 
making of the loop. Otherwise the 
proper time is from the beginning 
of March up to the end of April. 
The earth is then thoroughly 
cleansed; the stools are flexible 
and the shoots are sufficiently 
thick to allow the vine-grower 
to judge of their quality. The 
earlier the layering the better, as 
the stool is afforded a longer 



Part I 51 

time for growing the roots and 
gaining strength. 

The layer yields a crop the 
very first year. If the grape yield 
is too plentiful, it will be necessary 
to cut some of the fruit in order 
to prevent exhaustion. 

When plowing the ground the 
following year, it is necessary to 
uncover the layers in order to cut 
out the small roots grown by the 
shoots near the surface of the earth. 
Such roots prove detrimental to 
the main roots, which are the 
ones called upon to nourish the 
layer. 



52 Vineyards of France 

^9,. Second Method 

Layering used in old vineyards 
is merely to bend down under the 
ground a few stools of a stock in 
order to carry them to the gap 
intended to be filled, leaving 
the stock itself to live on as be- 
fore. 

The wood seleded as a layer 
should be a long shoot which has 
already given a plentiful yield of 
high grade grapes. 

In order to carry out properly 
this operation, the shoot should be 
carried toward the middle of the 
bed and then bent back to the row. 
The end of the shoot should be 



Part I 53 

bent downward and carried down 
to the underlying bottom. 

The layer should never be laid 
along the row without bending it 
across the bed. The earth of the 
alley being hard, it could not grow 
roots on that side, but only on the 
side of the bed where the earth 
is loose, since it has been dug up 
so that it would lose one-half of 
its nourishment. 

A layer should never be carried 
from one row to the other across 
the alley. First, because the earth 
of the alley being constantly hard, 
the layer cannot grow its roots 
through it. Second, because the 



54 Vineyardi of France 

heat, the cold, and the rain are felt 
more in the alley than in the bed. 

The best position for the layers 
is to lead them across the bed from 
one row to the other. 

The following year the layer 
should be notched near the stock 
in order to begin its separation 
from it. The final separation is 
made during the second or third 
year, according to the nature of 
the stock. This is done in order to 
avoid the exhaustion of the stock 
from which the shoot originates. 

When the shoot is separated 
from the stock, it is necessary to 
see to it that the cut end is buried 



Part I 55 

deeply in the earth. The cutting 
asunder of the shoots should be 
made during the operation called 
"parage" and before winter. First, 
in order that the wound may dry 
out, and the spring sap may not be 
lost. Second, in order that it may 
grow roots during the winter. 

When a shoot, cut asunder be- 
fore the winter, is pruned in the 
course of the spring, it should be 
left sufficient wood to prevent its 
exhaustion. 



56 Vineyards of France 

CHAPTER IX 

Fastening the Vine 

TO tie up or fasten the vine 
means to raise the shoots 
which have grown after the dis- 
budding and to tie them to the 
stake. 

This tying up is done after the 
disbudding, and always before the 
second tiUing, in order not to dis- 
turb the aheady tilled ground. 

The tying up should be done 
in moderate weather. If the air is 
cold or if the heat is very intense, 
the grapes freshly uncovered are 
liable to die out. 

If the tying up is done too late, 



Part I 57 

the buds run the risk of being bro- 
ken by the wind or being struck 
by hail, the possibiHty of which 
should not be disregarded at this 
time of the year. 

Since all the buds of the same 
stock do not grow evenly, a part 
of the buds require to be tied up 
earlier than the rest. This entails 
the necessity of performing this 
operation in two stages. The sec- 
ond tying up is called "raising 
up." 

Young vines should be the first 
tied up or fastened, since they are 
the ones growing more rapidly, 
and also to prevent their buds or 



58 Vineyards of France 

shoots, which are generally nu- 
merous, becoming intertwined or 
twisted. 

Three ties are required for fas- 
tening, one at the bottom, an- 
other at the top, and the third in 
the middle. 

In the absence of the middle 
tie, upon the bud growing after 
the fastening has been completed, 
there arises a kind of cage. It fol- 
lows therefrom that the hampered 
and unsupported bud either 
breaks or becomes detached at its 
base. 

The fastening should be made 
by means of straw and not by 



Part I 59 

the use of rushes, which are less 
flexible and more apt to break 
than straw. Each tie should be 
made up of at least two straw 
strands, otherwise it would be too 
weak and liable to break upon 
drying. 

The budding grapes should be 
clear of the ties, for if not, they 
would be stifled and would not 
ripen. 

CHAPTER X 
The ^^ Binage'' or Second Tilling 

THE "binage" or second 
tilling may be undertaken 
about the end of May in heavy 
soils or other soils which were 



6o Vineyards of France 

tilled early, especially when weeds 
begin to grow fast. 

However, this second tilling 
should be discontinued when the 
vine is blossoming and when the 
weather is either too cold or too 
warm. In either case one would 
run the risk of killing the blos- 
soms by digging the earth. For the 
performance of this work one 
should wait for very mild weather. 

The blossoming season is the 
most critical time for the vine. 
Cold weather is likely to injure 
the blossoms because it stops the 
sap, which thereafter is no longer 
sufficiently strong to nourish the 



Part I 6 1 

growing grapes. Intense heat like- 
wise destroys the blossoms, espe- 
cially after protracted rains, be- 
cause under such circumstances 
the sap flows too fast and does not 
afford the budding grapes suffi- 
cient time to grow. 

A protraded drought has the 
same effe6i:, as the soil does not 
supply the grapes with sufficient 
moisture. 

When the vine blossoms after 
protraded rains and the foot of 
the stock is surrounded by water, 
the dropping of the blossoms is 
greatly to be feared. 

When dry weather has pre- 



62 VineT/ards of France 

vailed for a long time, it is neces- 
sary to wait until it rains before 
performing the second tilling, 
and if the weather clears and ap- 
pears settled, to take advantage of 
it. If rainy weather were to set in 
again, the air would become cool 
owing to the rain and the blos- 
sominggrapes would be destroy ed. 

From the foregoing it follows 
that the second tilling is the oper- 
ation which requires the most 
attention in order to seledt the 
proper time to avoid the destruc- 
tion of the blossoms. 

Mild, dry weather, with a tinge 
of hot wind in it, after sufficient 



Part I 63 

rain has fallen, is the most suitable 
for the second tilling. The grapes 
and the buds derive then a greater 
benefit from such work and the 
weeds are more easily destroyed. 

The "binage" should not be 
undertaken until after the fasten- 
ing, otherwise the buds or shoots 
which have not yet been raised 
and fastened would be liable to 
be broken. 

Before the second tilling one 
should see to it that the first till- 
ing has been done throughout the 
vineyard. If this precaution is dis- 
regarded, one may mistake such 
portions of the vineyard as have 



64- Vinej/ardf of France 

been tilled the last as being the 
first to have received the "bi- 
nage." 

The second tilling is per- 
formed by means of the forked 
hoe and not by the use of an or- 
dinary hoe, as the former has a 
keener edge and is more suitable 
for cutting out weed roots. 

During the second tilling the 
earth should be dug at a great 
depth both on the bed and on the 
alley, and there should be re- 
turned to the bed a part of the 
earth existing on the alley, in a 
lesser quantity, hov^^ever, than 
during the "rebinage" or third 



Part I 65 

tilling, in order that the foot of 
the stock may be surrounded by 
a sufficient quantity of earth to 
afFord it the necessary protection 
against the heat. 

In black soils and other soils 
in which the underlayer is not 
located at a great depth, this re- 
moval of the earth from the alley 
to the bed is delayed until the 
"rebinage" or third tilling in 
order that the foot of the vine 
may be better protected against 
the heat. 

During the second tilling the 
manure newly spread on the silo 
should be thoroughly dug up, and 



66 Vineyards of France 



it should not be left exposed to 
the air, which would deprive it 
of its moisture, nor should it be 
removed to the alley, where it 
would serve no useful purpose 
and where it would become dry. 

CHAPTER XI 

The '■'■Rebinage'' or Third Tilling 

THE "rebinage" or third 
tilling is done in the same 
way and by means of the same 
implement as the second; namely, 
by the hoe. 

In tilling for the third time a 
greater quantity of earth is re- 
moved from the alley to the bed 



Part I 67 

than at the time of the second 
tiUing. The vine being prote6ted 
by its bud or shoot, which is now 
fully developed, there is less dan- 
ger that the foot of the stock will 
be damaged by the heat. 

In heavy soils or other soils 
which have been tilled early, the 
third tilling is undertaken about 
the middle of July and sometimes 
even earlier, whenever the grapes 
appear very well advanced for the 
time of year. 

If the soil is too dry or if the 
heat is too intense, it will be ne- 
cessary to delay this third tilling, 
as to overturn a dry and scorching 



68 Vineyardi of France 

soil would be tantamount to set- 
ting fire to the foot of the stock 
and would be apt to parch the 
stock and the roots. 

Furthermore, dust, dampened 
by dew, would form a kind of 
layer around the berry of the 
grapes, hardening its skin and 
diminishing its wine yield. 

The most appropriate time for 
the third tilling is immediately 
after rain, when the earth is thor- 
oughly permeated with water 
down to approximately two or 
three inches. Under such circum- 
stances the operation should not 
be delayed, as at this time of 



Part I 69 

the year the soil dries out very 
quickly. 

If the third tilling is done 
close to the vintage, the grapes are 
not afforded sufficient time to de- 
rive any profit fi*om it. The ut- 
most that can be expeded from 
a "rebinage" is the destrudion 
of weeds if they are too plenti- 
ful; but even at such a late date, 
it should not be negleded unless 
the heat is too intense. 

Whenever near the vintage the 
weather becomes cool, it is dan- 
gerous to disturb the earth. The 
vine would shed its leaves and 
the grapes, especially in the case 



70 Vineyardi of France 

of the "Auvernat," would be 
likely to wither rather than ripen. 
For no reason whatsoever, even 
were grapes very scarce or almost 
entirely absent because of frost, 
hail, or withering, or any other 
accident, should the third tilling 
be negleded. These tillings keep 
the stocks in good condition and 
destroy the weeds. 

CHAPTER XII 

The '■'•Quartage'' or Fourth Tilling 

THE "quartage" or fourth 
tilling is an ordinary tilling 
operation. 

It becomes necessary some- 



Part I 71 

times to carry out this fourth till- 
ing in vineyards which have been 
manured after the last vintage, 
whenever the weeds become very 
plentiful on account of prevailing 
rainy weather; and also in such 
portions of vineyards as have been 
the first to receive the second till- 
ing, whenever they are overridden 
by weeds. In such cases this work 
is paid for on the same basis as 
other work. 

In the foregoing cases, this 
fourth tilling is useful only pro- 
vided the preceding tillings have 
been properly carried out. For this 
reason the fourth tilling is very 



72 Vineyards of France 

seldom, if ever, used by vine-grow- 
ers on their own vineyards. 



CHAPTER XIII 

'faring and Nipping Buds and Shoots 

A FTER the third tilHng one 
X~\. may, or rather one should, 
pare the bud or shoot whenever 
its height exceeds that of the 
stake. The stock is thereby re- 
lieved and enabled to afford bet- 
ter nourishment to the grapes; 
but the lower shoots should not be 
raised before the middle of Au- 
gust, as the intense July and 
August heat would be likely to 
parch the grapes so exposed. 



Part I 73 

The vines should never be 
stripped of their leaves before 
the vintage is completed as the 
leaves protedt the grapes until 
they are ripe. 

The buds or shoots of the 
middle and lower stock should 
be most carefully preserved for 
the pruning, and should never be 
nipped except at the very end of the 
longest shoots. The nipping should 
be performed by moving the hand 
upward in order not to injure 
the shoot, which would make 
the wood more sensitive to winter 
frosts. 



patt 331 
Cultivation of the Vine 

CHAPTER I 

The ''''Parage^' 

THE "parage" consists in 
removing the earth from 
the alley and dumping it on the 
bed in order to raise the latter. 
The object of this is to afford a 
better protection to the largest 
roots which are found in the bed, 
in order that they may better 
withstand winter frosts. 

The proper time for the parage 
of the vine is after the vintage. 
However, the earth should not be 



76 Vinei/ards of France 

too dry, because, if so, it will be 
difficult to remove the dirt from 
the alley in order to throw it on 
the bed. 

In such vineyards as are in- 
tended to be manured before the 
winter, the first operation under- 
taken is the opening of the bed, 
the earth removed therefrom be- 
ing dumped on the alley. The 
manure is afterward spread upon 
the beds thus opened, and is then 
covered up by means of the earth 
previously dumped on the alley. 
After this the "parage" is carried 
out. 

A good "parage" requires that 



Part II 77 

the beds be kept high and of uni- 
form shape. First, the vine being 
covered by a deeper layer of earth 
better withstands winter frost. 
Second, the quahty of the dig- 
ging following the "parage" is 
dependent upon the quality of the 
"parage" itself. The higher the 
bed is raised during the " parage," 
the greater the quantity of earth 
that can be dumped on the alley 
during the digging, and conse- 
quently the deeper the furrow. 
This exerts an influence even on 
the second and third tilling, as 
will be explained later on. In 
plant nurseries the "parage" 



78 Vineyards of France 

should be at an earlier date than 
in vineyards, because the plants, 
having been covered from the 
outset with earth, are in a bet- 
ter position for withstanding the 
early autumn frosts. Plant nur- 
series do not require as high a bed 
as vineyards unless the plant is 
three years old in heavy soils and 
two years old in loose soils. No 
"parage" should be made after 
hoar frost unless the hoar frost has 
melted out. The roots of the vine 
would be exposed to injury from 
the buried ice, which would crack 
and burn them. 

In making the '^parage" it is 



Part II 79 

necessary to overturn the earth 
taken from the alley to the bed. 
In this way the weed roots be- 
come exposed and die out more 
rapidly, and by their decompo- 
sition they form a light manure 
that is very useful to the vine. 

Furthermore, the earth so over- 
turned becomes exposed to and 
permeated with air, and when 
turned over a second time it carries 
down to the roots the air ab- 
sorbed. 

During "parage" the stocks 
should be thoroughly cleansed; 
that is, they should be ridden of 
any weeds growing near them. 



8o Vineyards of France 



Such weeds by their moisture 
would be hkely to favour the 
growth of mould on the stocks. 

A properly carried out "pa- 
rage" requires that the alley be 
hollowed along its middle axis in 
order to afford a draining channel 
for the water, which, if left stag- 
nant all around the stocks, would 
make them die out. 

The above described opera- 
tions constitute what the vine- 
growers call "parage." This, op- 
eration has been called "parage," 
because after such operation all 
the alleys look even, as in a pro- 
perly cultivated garden. 



Part II 8 1 

CHAPTER II 
'The Poles or Stakes 

AS soon as the work has been 
JTm. completed, the pole or stake 
should be pulled out, as it is no 
longer necessary, and if left in 
the earth will be likely to rot under 
the influence of frequent winter 
rains. After it has been pulled out, 
it is sharpened whenever the point 
is found to be decayed or blunt. 
The best stakes are those taken 
from full-grown timber. They 
should be big, square, straight, 
and have a length of four feet 
and a half The best size is the 
one inch square. The copsewood 



82 Vineyards of France 

stake is the poorest, as it is taken 
from wood too young to have 
reached a sufficient degree of hard- 
ness and consistency. Such stakes 
are easily recognized from the fa6l 
that their ends are generally small 
and of a triangular shape instead 
of being big and square. Some- 
times copsewood stakes are round 
their entire length and full of sappy 
spots, which are easily noticeable 
because of their whiteness. 

In the vineyards where the 
alley and the bed occupy five feet 
and where the vine stocks are 
spaded at a distance of two feet 
three inches from one another. 



Part II 83 

there are in an arpent* eighty 
beds, each having two rows, each 
row comprising forty-four stocks; 
consequently, there are eighty- 
eight stocks per bed; that is, a 
total of seven thousand forty 
stocks. 

An arpent of soil should be 
divided into two parts or cuts and 
crossed through by an alley two 
feet wide running between the 
two parts or cuttings. 

In vineyards in which the 
vines are bound to each other 
by shoots (courgees), besides the 
stake which is driven at the foot 

* An arpent is equal to five-sixths of an acre. 



84 VineT/ards of France 

of each stock, other stakes are re- 
quired on the bed to support the 
long shoots, which are arranged 
in the form of a bower. 

These old stakes may be used 
as bed stakes as long as they have 
a length of one foot and a half. 

When the stake has one of its 
ends larger than the other, it is 
the large end that should be 
driven into the earth, as this end 
offers a greater resistance and is 
less likely to break. 

Since all the stools do not be- 
gin to grow by the first year, only 
such stools are provided with 
stakes as begin growing. The in- 



Part II '^S 

terplant of the second and third 
year does not have any stakes. 



CHAPTER III 

Fertilizers — Manures^ New Earths^ 
and Marls 

§ I . Quality of Fertilizers 

THE cow Utter used for 
making manure should be 
a straw, haulm, or hay litter. 
Bulrush, shoots, and heather are 
absolutely useless. The manure 
should not contain either earth 
or cut shoots. 

Cow manure is the most suit- 
able, especially for young vines 
and those planted in burning 



86 Vineyards of France 



soils, in which case horse manure 
should be absolutely avoided. It 
certainly would burn or scorch 
the vine. 

Horse manure may be found 
satisfactory for old vines, especially 
in cold and damp soils. It is 
warmer and leaner than cow ma- 
nure. 

Pigeon and fowl manure is ex- 
tremely warm. It cannot be used 
in vineyards unless the soil is 
cold, and it is desired to impart 
new vigour to spent vines. It is 
scattered in small quantities al- 
most in the same way as grain 
seed. 



Part II 87 

§2. 'T* roper Time for Manuring the Vine 
The best time for manuring 
the vine is from All Saints, First 
of November, to the end of win- 
ter. First, at such time the ma- 
nure is more thoroughly done, as 
it has been kept since the spring. 
Second, the good nourishment 
secured by the cows during the 
summer makes a better manure. 
Third, during the winter it is 
afforded plenty of time to dissolve 
and permeate the soil, so that in 
the springtime the vine can derive 
the whole benefit to be secured 
from the manure. 

It would be possible likewise 



88 Vineyards of France 

to spread the manure in the 
month of March before the sap 
sets in, but in this case it should 
be seen that the earth is healthy; 
that is, that there is no snow or 
frost, which, if buried with the 
manure, would be apt to injure 
the roots of the vine. Furthermore, 
the manure should not be applied 
when the vine is budding, be- 
cause a recently manured or dug 
earth is likely to attradl the frost. 
Stridlly speaking, it would be 
possible to spread the manure at 
any other time after the danger 
of frost is passed, at least in 
vineyards in which the vines are 



Part II 89 

tied by loops. However, in this 
case one would face the risk of 
the heat drying out the manure 
and rendering it useless. With re- 
gard to vineyards in which the 
vines are tied by shoots (cour- 
gees), after they have been tied 
it will be impossible either to 
spread or to bury the manure. 

At the time of spreading the 
manure, the soil should be suffi- 
ciently moist to facilitate burying 
the manure. 

The large roots are to be found 
on the bed, since the stool has 
been bent toward the bed at the 
time of the planting. 



90 Vineyards of France 

Manure should be buried at a 
great depth in order that it may 
come in con tad with all the roots. 
When tilling the soil the manure 
is brought to the surface, but it 
should be at once covered up again, 
and should not be left exposed 
to the air, as otherwise it will dry 
out, and only serve to grow weeds. 
Generally, manure is not thor- 
oughly absorbed until after two 
years from the time it is buried. 

§ 3 • Qu'^nttty of Manure to be used in 
Mafiuring Vineyards 

Manure in itself is beneficial 

to the vine, but it can be much 



Part II 91 

more so if spread in the proper 
quantity and at the proper time. 
Since manuring increases the 
quantity of wine, but is detri- 
mental to its quaUty, it is ne- 
cessary to avoid two excesses; 
namely, the use of a too large or 
a too small quantity of manure. 

In good soils each arpent 
should be manured in its entirety 
every seven or eight years. Light 
soils should be manured more 
frequently, as they need this help 
in order to be able to nourish 
the vine properly. 

The vine is manured in the 
first instance after it has been 



92 Vineyards of France 

planted, and thereafter it is ma- 
nured again in the year follow- 
ing the one during which it has 
borne its fifth bud. 

The manuring at the time of 
planting is done by hand; that is, 
the plant is covered with a layer 
of earth two or three inches deep. 
Afterward, a handful of manure 
is spread on the earth and cov- 
ered with another layer of earth. 
From two to three hundred bas- 
kets of manure should be suffi- 
cient for planting an arpent. 

New earths used for fertilizing 
vineyards instead of manure have 
a longer duration than manure 



Part II 93 

itself. Their fertilizing strength is 
not as great as that of manure, 
but a better quality of wine is 
produced. 

New earths should be buried 
in the bed exadlly as manure. If 
they were simply spread on the 
bed without being buried, they 
would only serve to grow weeds. 
Marl* taken from morasses and 
ponds is very good for the vine, 
but it is extremely cold, and, 
therefore, first, it should be left 
to rest two years before using it. 
Second, it should be used only 



* Soil consisting of clay and carbonate of lime, a valu- 
able fertilizer. 



94 Vineyards of France 

on warm soils. Third, it should 
be spread on the bed rather than 
buried. Its coldness may injure 
the roots of the vine if these pre- 
cautions are negledled. 

From two to three hundred 
baskets of earth are not too much 
for fertilizing an arpent. 

CHAPTER IV 
^Dressing the Vine 
§1. When to Dress the Vine 

IN warm sections, such as 
Provence and other similar 
countries, the vines are dressed 
before the winter, and this is a 
very wise method, because, first. 



Part II 95 

the roots, having less wood to 
nourish during the winter, give 
a better nourishment to the rest 
of the plant. Second, the wound 
is afforded sufficient time to dry 
out and does not bleed, as is the 
case whenever the pruning is 
done during the spring. The vine 
does not lose any sap. In a cli- 
mate such as the upper Loire, 
this practice would be dangerous, 
since the frost is sometimes very 
heavy, and if it were to happen 
that the wood left after the pre- 
winter dressing were frozen dur- 
ing the winter, there would be 
nothing left for the current year. 



96 Vineyards of France 

On the contrary, if the vines 
have not yet been dressed, even if 
the weather is very severe, it is 
extremely unHkely for all the 
shoots to be frozen and spoiled, 
and one is practically sure to find 
at the time of pruning some 
shoots suitable for dressing. This 
is the reason why the custom 
prevails of not pruning vines until 
after the frosts. 

The best time is the month of 
March, because in that month the 
frosts are not sufficiently heavy 
to injure the wood of the vine. 
However, this is impracticable, 
owing to the fad that vine-grow- 



Part II 97 

ers are generally too busy, since 
the first tilling of the soil is 
done during the month of March. 
Furthermore, the vine, being al- 
ready in an advanced stage of 
growth, would lose too much 
sap. 

The least of the injuries that a 
frost may inflid: upon a vine re- 
cently dressed is to kill the shoot 
which is nearest to the wound, if 
it has not had time to heal before 
the winter frosts. 

According to custom, dressing 
may be commenced on the Feast 
of St. Vincent, 22d of January, 
unless frost prevails. 



98 Vineyards of France 

• ^ — ~ J — 

Clear weather is the most suit- 
able for dressing the vine. In 
rainy or inclement weather the 
vine-grower cannot be expected 
to pay sufficient attention to the 
work he is performing, which de- 
mands close attention rather than 
physical exertion. Furthermore, 
the wound is prevented from 
healing quickly. 

§ 2 . Marnier of Dressing the Vine 

Before undertaking the prun- 
ing of a stock, it should be as- 
certained whether there are va- 
cant places near such stocks to 
be filled by layering. If this is the 



Part II 99 

case, it will be necessary to see to 
it that sufficient wood is left on 
the stock for this purpose. 

The first vines to be dressed 
should be the old ones, in order 
to be sure that the wound has 
healed by the time the vines be- 
gin to grow and that no sap is 
lost. In the case of old vines, sap 
should be spared as much as pos- 
sible, as it is less abundant than in 
young vines. 

The plant should be treated 
in the same way as old vines and 
should be dressed at an early date. 

The plant has a very scanty 
sap, since it has extremely small 



lOO Vineyards of France 

and weak roots. Care should 
therefore be taken that no sap is 
lost through a fresh wound. 

Before dressing the plant it 
should be laid bare all around its 
base in order to cut out the small 
roots appearing at the foot of the 
stock, which prevent the plant 
from growing through the bed 
where it finds the most nourish- 
ment. This is an important point. 
The dressing work should be con- 
cluded with the young vines. As 
their sap is abundant there is no 
danger of their being injured by 
loss of sap through fresh wounds. 
Such a loss of sap is rather likely 



Part II loi 

to benefit them, as the shoots 
will grow nearer one another and 
will be better shaped and rounder. 
Such shoots are more likely to 
give a plentiful crop. 

On the contrary, if these 
young vines are dressed too soon, 
the force and abundance of sap 
is such that the shoots are not 
allowed sufficient time to grow 
properly, but spread very far apart 
and become flat in shape. Such 
shoots are generally barren. Red 
grape vines should be dressed 
earlier than those bearing white 
grapes. 

In order to carry out the 



I02 Vineyards of France 

dressing properly, it is necessary 
to exercise sound judgment as to 
the quantity and quality of wood 
to be left on the vine. 

With regard to the quantity, 
one may state as a general rule 
that the larger the amount of 
wood left, the larger the quantity 
of wine produced, but at the same 
time the vine is liable to exhaust 
itself more quickly, since it does 
not possess a sufficient quantity 
of roots and sap to supply such 
an amount of wood. On the con- 
trary, if the pruning is pushed 
too far, the vine produces too 
much wood and too many buds. 



Part II 103 

and consequently a scanty crop 
of grapes, since the more buds, 
the more sap taken up by them 
and diverted from the grapes. 
Therefore a middle course should 
be followed. 

In order to determine the 
quantity of wood to be left on 
the vine at the time of dressing, it 
is necessary to take into account 
the age of the vine, its strength, 
the nature of the soil, and the ma- 
nuring, as well as the quality of 
the stock. 

To a young vine planted in a 
strong well-manured and well- • 
tilled soil there should be left at 



I04 Vineyards of France 

least two "viette" shoots, a few 
"pouce" shoots, and a few "ta- 
quet" shoots. 

The "viette" is a shoot about 
three feet long. The "pouce" is 
a shoot containing two or three 
knots, and the "taquet" a shoot 
having from five to six knots. 
"Eye," "knot," "shoot," "but- 
ton," are all words having the 
same meaning. 

With old vines or vines planted 
in weak, scantily manured soil, 
the pruning should be pushed 
further. 

After two or three consecutive 
plentiful crops less wood should 



Part II 105 

be left, since the vine, exhausted 
by such plentiful crops, is not in a 
position to nourish all its grapes, 
which are liable to miscarry be- 
fore, during, or after blooming. 

If, on the contrary, the vine 
has given scanty crops for several 
years consecutively, it will be 
necessary to leave a somewhat 
larger quantity of wood than or- 
dinarily, but generally speaking, it 
is better to leave more wood than 
necessary rather than less. 

The dressing should be per- 
formed in such a way as to leave 
a sufBcient quantity of wood for 
the requirements of the current 



io6 Vineyards of France 

crop as well as for the require- 
ments of the next year, accord- 
ing to the proverbial saying: "In 
dressing the vine it is necessary to 
leave on it both the wine and the 
vine." 

The dressing of the vines has 
among its other objects the re- 
juvenation of the plant by leaving 
at the foot of the stock sufficient 
wood to carry new "pouce" 
shoots, new "taquet" shoots, and 
new "viette" shoots. 

In red grape vines the shoots 
which are located diredlly on the 
stock, however fine and long they 
may appear, should always be 



Part II 107 

pruned to the length of a "pouce" 
shoot, since they absorb a great 
deal of sap and very seldom yield 
a reasonable quantity of grapes. 
This does not apply to white 
grape vines. 

Young shoots are the only 
ones that give a reasonable yield, 
and when they are direcSlly located 
on old wood, or at least on com- 
paratively old wood. These shoots 
are called "Mouchet" and should 
be preserved most carefully. 

The pruning is done by means 
of bevel cuts, the slanting side of 
which. runs away from the shoot 
to prevent the sap from falling 



io8 Vineyards of France 

upon and ruining it when the 
vine bleeds. 

Vines should not be cut so near 
to the eye or knot as is done by 
gardeners in the case of trees. It 
is necessary to leave one to three 
inches of wood from the shoot to 
the wound, but no more. If this 
wood — called "argot" — is longer, 
when dressing the following year 
the pruning-hook is liable to in- 
jure the remaining wood. 

In dressing the vine the stools 
or shoots left over should be thor- 
oughly cleaned. Furthermore, all 
the "large heads" should be cut 
out. By "large heads" the vine- 



Part II 109 

growers mean the dead wood 
existing on the stock, but it is ne- 
cessary to see to it that the stock 
is not cracked when this is done, 
as otherwise the sap will be lost 
through the wound. 

White grape stocks are gen- 
erally dressed in such a way as to 
leave on the stocks long shoots, 
which are tied by loops, except- 
ing the "Auvernat- white" of 
"Pais-bas," which is dressed in 
exadllv the same manner as red 
grape vines. 

On white grape vines, besides 
the long shoots which are tied by 
loops, there are left on the stock 



no Vineyardi of France 



small shoots of from three to 
four knots, called "looptails" or 
"brainwood."This "brainwood" 
gives a small yield in red grape 
vines, but a large yield in white 
grape vines. 

Besides the "looptail" there is 
left also a small "courgee" shoot; 
that is, a shoot of from four to five 
knots grown on a "looptail," or 
on a small shoot that has already 
yielded grapes. 

With regard to vine arbors, 
since such vines have a large sur- 
face of ground from which to 
derive their nourishment, they 
should be left a larger quantity 



Part II III 

of wood, especially at the base, as 
that yields the largest crop. 

Vine arbors, as well as vines in 
general, should be dressed early in 
order that the wound may have 
sufficient time to heal before the 
sap sets in. 

The different methods of 
dressing and the different kinds 
of stocks planted in different soils 
have been taught by experience 
supplemented by reasoning. It 
would be dangerous in this case, 
as in any other, to deviate from 
the generally accepted custom. 
If this is done, the experiment 
should be performed in the first 



112 Vineyards of France 

instance only on a small num- 
ber of vines and during several 
consecutive years before adopting 
it definitely. 

CHAPTER V 

The First Tilling 

Preliminary Observations. Vegetation 

THE effed of tilling is to 
facilitate the growth of the 
plants; that is, the acSlion by 
which they are nourished, and 
grow and yield fruit. 

Sap is the medium of vegeta- 
tion in plants. Sap, which is a 
thin and spirituous liquor, enters 
the plant by its roots and runs 



Part II 113 

up to the ends of its branches, 
ascending and descending in a 
continuous circulating flow. 

Sap is composed of different 
salts, of water, as well as of the 
thinnest components of earth. 
The salts of fertilizers and new 
earths spread in vineyards mixed 
with the sap become an integral 
part of it and increase its quan- 
tity. 

The other salts contained in 
sap owe their origin to the adion 
of air, to the rain, snow, and fogs, 
which, permeating the soil, give 
up to it the salts they contain. 
These salts, mixed with the thin- 



114- Vineyards of France 

nest components of the earth, are 
later dissolved by rain. 

During the winter the sap is 
coagulated within the branches, 
the trunk, and in the roots of the 
plant, as becomes apparent upon 
burning the wood of a recently 
felled tree. The heat of the fire 
makes the log, which did not 
bleed through its wounds when 
the tree was felled (as the felling 
is done as a rule in the winter- 
time), bleed at both ends. Such 
bleeding cannot but be caused by 
the sap which was nourishing the 
plant when it was standing. 

In the springtime this sap. 



Part II 115 

which has been coagulated all 
through the winter, begins to 
melt in the plant through the heat 
of the air and sunshine, which 
likewise starts on their course all 
the salts saturating the earth and 
making up the sap. 

On the other hand, this heat 
expands the roots, which have 
been contracted by the cold of 
winter. It follows therefrom that 
the sap surrounding the roots thus 
expanded enters and permeates 
them, impelled by the action of 
the air and of the earth heated by 
sunshine. One might also say that 
the sap is drawn into the roots by 



ii6 Vineyards of France 

the vacuum created by the heat, 
both in the pores of the roots 
and in the trunk and the stems. 

This same expansion, com- 
bined with the upward thrust of 
the new sap furnished in large 
quantities by the roots, compels 
the sap which is melting through- 
out the plant to resume its circu- 
lation, thereby promoting the 
growth of the plant. 

The above is made clear by the 
inactivity of sap during the winter 
and by its adivity during the 
summer. 

Now, experience has shown 
how useful the tilling of the 



Part II 117 

ground is for the promotion of 
the growth and truit-yielding 
capacity of the plant. It is a well- 
known fad that untilled soil, 
even under the most favourable 
climatic conditions, is always 
barren and yields only brambles 
and thorns, even if in itself of the 
very best quality. 

It is easy to understand how 
a soil, which for several months 
has been pelted and hardened by 
frosts, is loosened and raised by 
proper tilling in order to make it 
so permeable to rainwater and to 
sunshine as to make it possible 
for the roots to profit by the adion 



ii8 Vineyards of France 

of these elements, and for the sap, 
which is the adive factor of 
growth, easily to penetrate into 
the roots. 

§ I . I'he Proper Trilling Time 

The first tilling is one of the 
most important agricultural oper- 
ations, owing to the special time 
at which it is performed, as it is 
done at a time when the vine, just 
starting, is in the greatest need of 
help. 

Its importance springs also from 
the fad that unless this first tilling 
is properly carried out, all subse- 
quent tilling work will be unsat- 



Part II 119 

isfa^lory. The proof of this is 
very interesting and tangible, and 
it will be dwelt upon in the fol- 
lowing paragraphs. 

During the Autumn "parage" 
the earth has been taken from the 
alley and placed on the bed with 
a view to widening and raising 
the bed. This operation has for 
its object the providing of better 
protection to the roots against 
winter frosts. 

When carrying out the first till- 
ing, which is done in the spring, 
a portion of the earth which at 
the time of the "parage" was 
taken from the alley and dumped 



I20 Vineyards of France 

upon the bed is again removed 
from the bed in order to afford 
to the roots, which now have no 
longer to fear the biting cold of 
winter, a better opportunity to 
be ad:ed upon by air and sunshine 
as well as by rainwater, which 
favours and promotes the growth 
of the plant. 

But since the roots of the vine 
are as much affeded by excessive 
heat, which parches them, as by 
the cold of winter, which cracks 
and burns them, it becomes ne- 
cessary at the end of spring, when 
the heat increases, to proted: them 
against it, as they were protedled 



Part II 121 

during winter against cold, and 
the same protection is resorted to 
in both cases : namely, covering 
the roots by a deep layer of earth. 

For this purpose, at the "bi- 
nage" or second tilling, which 
takes place at the end of May, the 
first thing done is to remove a 
portion of the earth from the alley 
and to spread it on the bed as a 
protection against heat. 

At the "rebinage" or third 
tilling, which is performed about 
the middle of July, when the hot- 
test weather prevails, and when, 
consequently, the greatest pro- 
tection should be afforded the 



122 Vineyards of France 

roots of the vine, a further quan- 
tity of earth is taken from the 
alley and dumped upon the bed. 
It is clear that unless at the first 
tilling a sufficient quantity of 
earth has been taken from the bed 
to the alley, the earth accumulated 
on the bed will be insufficient to 
take care of the "binage" and 
" rebinage." 

It follows therefrom that the 
second and third tilling cannot 
be satisfactorily done unless the 
first tilling has been properly at- 
tended to, which is exactly what 
we aim to prove. 

It follows, furthermore, that as 




; ■ V 



AN ARM OF A MODERNIZED CELLAR 



Part IT 123 

the fitness of the first tiUing de- 
pends upon the fitness of the " pa- 
rage," as was explained when 
describing such "parage," so the 
fitness of the two following till- 
ings depends on the fitness of the 
first tilling, and that, by a natural 
interlinkage of cause and effedl, 
the improper performance of 
either of these operations, and es- 
pecially of the first, namely, the 
"parage," exercises unfailingly 
an injurious action on all consec- 
utive operations. 

The tilling of heavy soils is gen- 
erally begun in the middle of 
March, when the winter is ap- 



124 Vineyards of France 

parently over, the vine has already 
been dressed, but not tied, the 
earth is healthy, that is, neither 
too dry nor too damp, and the 
weather is clear. It is at such a 
timethatthe soil requires this first 
tilling in order to make the sprout- 
ing buds grow more rapidly. 

The "grouette" soils, sandy 
soils, and light soils should not be 
tilled until about the middle of 
May, owing to the fad: that they 
are more liable to frosts than the 
heavy soils. 

Experience has shown that such 
delay does not prove as injurious 
in the case of light soils as it would 



Part II 125 

in the case of heavy soils, because 
the latter being less easily pene- 
trated by sunshine, owing to the 
greater density and hardness, the 
frosts would be apt to bite the 
roots if the tilling were delayed 
until such a late date. This has 
been the experience of several 
land-owners who followed this 
plan with a view to preserving 
the vine from possible frosts and 
found themselves confronted by 
a much more serious danger than 
the one they were trying to 
avoid. 

Plants and young vines, even 
in heavy soils, are not tilled until 



126 Vineyardi of France 

the middle of May, that is, when 
all danger of spring frost has ap- 
parently disappeared. Being more 
tender and in closer proximity to 
the soil, they are more sensitive 
to frost. 

When shoots begin to blossom 
out, if there is danger of frost, 
the tilling and any other kind of 
work in vineyards should be im- 
mediately stopped. It is even dan- 
gerous to gather weeds when 
frost is threatening, as such gath- 
ering cannot be done without 
slightly disturbing the earth and 
thereby attracting the frost. 

The soil should not be tilled 



Part II 127 

unless the weather is dry and the 
soil itself is dry, at least on the 
surface, and the water has disap- 
peared. The reason for this is 
perfe6i:ly plain. The soil is tilled 
to loosen it and to enable rain- 
water and sunshine to percolate 
down to the roots. If the tilling 
is done when the earth is too 
damp, each stroke of the hoe will 
remove a lump of mud, which by 
and by will harden, destroying 
thereby all the useful results of the 
tilling. This is the reason the 
proverb says : " Only a fool will 
till the ground in foul weather." 
Intrinsically damp soils should 



128 Vineyards of France 



be the last to be tilled for the 
above-mentioned reasons. 

Tilling done at a wrong time 
is liable to cause the vine to 
w^ither away, to become burned 
and barren. The statements in 
this section and the foregoing 
observations will be easily ac- 
knowledged to be thoroughly 
supported by reason. 

Vine-growers are so firmly 
convinced of the importance of 
tilling that whenever, after they 
have performed such tilling in 
their own vineyards, heavy rains 
occur which pelt and harden the 
ground, they do not hesitate — at 



Part II 129 

least those who are well enough 
off to allord doing so — to carry 
out such tilling all over again. 

§ 2. Tilling Methods 

The tilling consists in dump- 
ing on the alley the earth which 
was removed to the bed at the 
time of the "parage." 

It is generally performed by 
means of a wide and blunt-forked 
hoe rather than by an ordinary 
hoe, unless the soil is a stony one, 
in which case only a pointed in- 
strument can be used. 

This hoe is a flat iron instru- 
ment with a cutting edge, like a 



130 Vineyards of France 

spade, fifteen inches long and 
nine inches wide. 

The difference between the 
hoe and the spade consists in the 
fad: that in the latter the blade 
and the handle form a straight 
continuous line, whereas the 
blade of the hoe is set at an angle 
with the handle, which is in- 
serted in a bent socket forming 
part of the blade. 

The labourer using the spade 
works in an ered position and 
throws in front of him the earth 
he has dug. The labourer using 
the hoe works in a bent position 
and draws the earth toward him- 



Part II 131 

self in digging and overturning it. 

The "croy" or forked hoe is 
a true hoe except that from its 
cutting edge up to two-thirds of 
its total length there extends an 
indentation two to three inches 
wide, which permits the hoe to 
surround the stock when digging. 
This allows a thorough clearing 
of the ground all around the base 
of the stock. 

The two sides of this indenta- 
tion may have pointed ends, in 
which case the instrument is 
called a forked hoe. Such an in- 
strument is especially suited to 
gravelly or stony soils. 



132 Vineyards of France 

If the tilling has been properly 
done, first, the alley should be as 
high as the bed, the difference 
in the level not to exceed three 
inches; second, there should be no 
lumps. All the lumps should have 
been crushed with the head of the 
forked hoe. The earth should have 
a uniform appearance throughout 
the bed v^ithout any hard patches. 
Unless all these conditions are 
fulfilled, the earth will not be suf- 
ficiently loose to be favourable to 
the growth of the plant. 

After the tilling has been com- 
pleted, the thoroughness of the 
work may be tested by sounding 



Part II 133 

the depth of the furrow. It should 
be at least two or three inches 
deep. 

It is at the time of the dig- 
ging of the bed for manuring 
purposes that the thoroughness 
of the tilling is ascertained. Un- 
less the tilling has been properly 
done, hard soil is encountered at a 
small depth from the surface, and 
thick roots are found there which, 
had the tilling been properly 
carried out, would have struck 
deeper. 

In the course of the tilling, the 
earth, which, since the "parage," 
has been exposed to the air and 



134- Vineyards of France 

is consequently more saturated 
with salts, should be completely 
overturned in order that it may 
be brought into intimate contact 
with the roots so as to supply them 
with the necessary salts. 

The weeds should be buried 
in such a way as to leave their 
roots exposed. The stocks should 
be thoroughly cleaned all around 
their bases. 

Before removing the earth 
from the bed it is necessary to 
clean the alley with a rake in 
order to pull out all weed roots 
and prevent them from growing, 
as far as possible, until the "bi- 



Part 11 135 

nage," to avoid their depriving the 
vine of its nourishment. 

IntilUngthesoil care should be 
taken not to expose the manure 
recently spread in the vineyard. 
By exposure it will dry out and 
become useless or even positively 
injurious, as it attracts frost. When- 
ever the manure is uncovered 
during the course of tilling, care 
should be taken that it is covered 
again with earth.- 

A careful first tilling spares the 
vine-grower a great deal of work 
later on, besides proving ex- 
tremely advantageous to the vine, 
owing to the fad that it is per- 



136 Vine2/ardf of France 

formed when the vine is starting 
its wood and its fruit. 



CHAPTER VI 
T>estru5iion of Weeds in Vineyards 

WHENEVER feasible, no 
weeds should be allowed 
to remain on the ground in a 
vineyard. They dry up the soil, 
they use the manure, they deprive 
the vine of its best nourishment, 
and prevent it from producing as 
fine and as plentiful a crop of 
grapes as it would were such 
weeds removed. 

The weeds should not be 
pulled out immediately after rain. 



Part II 137 

as this would disturb the surface 
of the tilled soil. Nor should they 
be pulled out when the soil is too 
dry, because it would be impos- 
sible in such a case to extract the 
root. 

It is at the time of tilling that 
such weeds may be most easily 
destroyed by overturning them in 
such a way as to expose their 
roots, which, dried by the sun, 
die out and become harmless. 

All kinds of weeds are inju- 
rious to the vine, but especially 
the thistle and the quitch. 

The thistle, from the second 
year of its growth onward, strikes 



138 Vineyards of France 

its roots down to the bottom layer, 
and it cannot be pulled out un- 
less the earth is very damp. If, 
instead of being pulled out, it is 
simply broken or cut, it grows 
faster than before. 

Of all the weeds, the quitch is 
the most objectionable; it spreads 
faster than any other, and its roots 
strike deeper into the soil. Its 
growth is traceable to utter neg- 
lect of or carelessness in tilling. 

The proper time to extermi- 
nate this weed is when the sap 
is ascending, and especially after 
heavy rains. When pulling them 
out it is necessary to dig the earth 



Part II 139 

to a great depth in order to ex- 
pose the deepest roots and make 
sure that not the smallest one is 
left in the ground, as otherwise 
the obnoxious plant is sure to re- 
appear. 

CHAPTER VII 

The Fastening 

A S soon as the tilling is com- 
L\. pleted, the stake to which 
the vine is to be fastened is driven 
into the earth. 

The fastening should be under- 
taken only at a time when the 
ascending sap makes the wood soft 
and flexible, so as to avoid any risk 
of breakage. 



140 Vineyards of France 

A vine-grower should refrain 
from driving more stakes than he 
can fasten the vines to in the 
course of the day. Otherwise the 
wind, blowing the shoots against 
the stakes, is likely to injure and 
to break them. The stakes are 
driven in the morning before 
lunch time. After this meal the 
fastening work is begun. 

When the buds are about one 
inch long, it is dangerous to leave 
the vine unfastened, even if the 
stakes have not yet been driven, 
because in windy weather the 
wood and the buds are liable to 
suffer, owing to the shaking 



Part II 141 

by the wind of the unfastened 
shoots. 

Red grape vines are fastened 
by "courgee" and white grape 
vines by loops, except the "Au- 
vernat- white " of "Pais-bas," 
which is fastened hkewise by 
"courgee." 

The fastening by "courgee" 
is done by laying on the bed the 
long shoots left behind at the time 
of the dressing. For this purpose 
an old stake is driven in the mid- 
dle of the bed, the ends of the 
shoots are fastened to the old stake, 
and the long shoots to the stake 
driven near the foot of the stock. 



142 Vineyards of France 

Vines fastened by "courgee" 
form a kind of arbor on the bed. 
This arbor should be sufficiently 
high to allow ample space for the 
hoe at the time of tilling. When 
the vine is laid in this way, the 
grapes are more fully exposed 
to the air and sunshine. They 
ripen better and acquire a better 
quality. 

In order to secure these ad- 
vantages, some vine-growers have 
tried to fasten white grape stocks 
by "courgee," instead of fasten- 
ing them by loops, but such a 
practice had to be discontinued. 
It was found that the end shoots 



Part II 143 

of each "courgee" were the only 
ones to bear fruit, while those 
nearest the stock remained bar- 
ren. This trouble was not experi- 
enced when the vines were fas- 
tened by loops. 

This curious phenomenon can 
be explained only by the energy of 
the circulation of the sap, which, 
flowing too rapidly toward the top 
of the shoot fastened by "cour- 
gee," cannot exercise its full ac- 
tion upon the first branch shoots 
it meets with upon leaving the 
stock. If the vines are fastened 
by loops, the flow of the sap is 
retarded, and the sap is given full 



14-4 Vineyards of France 

opportunity to exercise its adion 
upon all the shoots. 

When the vines are fastened 
in this way, a single glance is suf- 
ficient to determine whether the 
vineyard is sufficiently provided 
with wood. If this is the case, the 
arbor does not show from one end 
to the other any discontinuation 
or any gap. 

In loop fastening no " charnis- 
sons" are driven in the bed. The 
shoots are bent in the form of a 
loop, and their ends are fastened 
to the stake individually in order 
to prevent the last buds from in- 
juring one another. 



Part II 145 

Fastened vines are more liable 
to frost because their buds are 
nearer the ground and conse- 
quently more easily affedled by 
the vapours from the ground, 
which, condensed by the coolness 
of the air, cause frost. 

For a similar reason, when 
the vines have not as yet been 
fastened, since all the buds are 
not placed at the same height 
from the ground, those farthest 
from the soil suffer least from 
frost, the more because, being 
shaken more vehemently by the 
wind, they are less liable to be 
frost-bitten. It will therefore be 



146 VineT/ards of France 

advisable to discontinue the fas- 
tening whenever there is danger 
of frost. 

In fastening, the shoot should 
be laid according to its natural 
dire6i:ion and not counterwise, in 
order to avoid the possibility of 
splitting when twisted. If this hap- 
pens, the sap flows out through the 
wound and the shoot dies. 

The vine should be fastened 
with red willow and not with 
white willow, which is likely to 
break, at least when dry. 



Part II 147 

CHAPTER VIII 
Nipping Off the Buds 

TO nip off buds or to 
disbud the vine means 
to remove needless buds which 
would be apt to prove injurious. 
Any bud is needless or useless 
which does not have any grapes, 
or which is not intended to be 
pruned in the following year. 

Any useless bud is superfluous, 
first, because the sap nourishing 
it would be merely wasted; sec- 
ond, because on its growing it 
would cover the grapes, shutting 
them off from the beneficent ac- 
tion of air. 



izj-S Vinei/ards of France 

It is dangerous to disbud the 
vine too early, that is, when the 
grapes are still so small as to make 
it difficult to distinguish them in 
the heart of the bud, as one runs 
the risk of pulling out the future 
grapes together with the bud. 

It is equally dangerous to dis- 
bud the vine too late, because in 
such a case the bud removed has 
already used up nourishment in- 
tended for the remaining buds. 
It is, therefore, necessary to carry 
out this operation at the proper 
time, and the vine-grower should 
engage help in order to be in a 
position to do so. 



Part II 149 

Such buds as are located on 
the stock near its base are left 
behind for next year pruning, but 
not more than two buds on " Au- 
vernat" stocks and on red grape 
stocks. On white grape stocks as 
many as three and four buds are 
left for the reason explained in 
the chapter concerning the dress- 
ing of the vines; namely, that this 
wood, shooting forth from the 
stock and called "brain-wood," 
produces a greater yield in white 
grape vines than in red grape 
vines. 

In old vines one should not 
remove the small buds which are 



150 Vinei/ards of France 

found on old wood, as they are 
to be used in the following years 
for renovating the vine. 

A well-pruned and well-dis- 
budded vine should have buds 
from the foot of the stock up to 
the top of the shoots. If this is 
not the case, the vine has been 
either improperly pruned or im- 
properly disbudded. 



patt 3331 

Occidents Affeding the Vine 
Its Diseases and Harmful Inseds 

CHAPTER I 
(tAccidents Affe5ling the Vine 

VINES are likely to suffer 
from frost-bite, winter and 
spring frosts, the "tacon," the 
hail, and the shedding of the 
blossoms. 

§ I . The Frost-Bite 

A shoot is said to be frost-bit- 
ten when one or more of the 
shoots branching out are spoiled 
and dead. 



152 Vineyardi of France 

Summer frost-bite is due to de- 
ficient heat and is liable to occur 
whenever, owing to the rainy and 
cold season, the shoots have been 
prevented from growing properly, 
and their branches from becoming 
sufficiently hardy to withstand the 
early autumn frosts, or whenever 
a shoot has been too tightly fas- 
tened up, thereby hampering the 
proper circulation of the sap in- 
dispensable for its proper growth. 

Winter frost-bite is due to the 
melting by the sun of the hoar 
frost covering a shoot. The shoot 
becomes parched, blackens, and 
falls to the ground. 



Part III 153 

When the hoar frost or white 
frost is removed by the wind shak- 
ing the shoots, or when, owing 
to overcast weather, the hoar frost 
dries out, or when it is melted by 
the fog before the sun appears, no 
frost-bite can possibly take place. 
This accident can be neither pre- 
vented nor made harmless. 

§ 2 . Winter Frosts 

Winter frosts are at times so 
heavy as to reach down to the 
roots of the vine and to make it 
necessary to pull them out. 

Sometimes the heavy cold 
freezes only the stools down to 



154 Vinei/ardf of France 

the stump. Then the vines should 
be cut off at the base. 

When this becomes necessary, 
it should be done as soon as pos- 
sible so that the wounds, which 
are naturally very wide, may be 
afforded sufficient time to dry 
before the sap sets in. 

In spite of the severity of the 
winter, the shoots nearest the 
stock are sometimes preserved by 
the snow covering them. In this 
case the wood is cut down only to 
these shoots. 

Sometimes after a very severe 
winter one is in doubt whether 
the wood is still good or not. The 



Part III 155 

shoots are very brittle because they 
have sufFered from the frost. Nev- 
ertheless, the wood is still green 
inside, however pale the colour 
may be. 

The best plan has been to cut 
the vine very short and to leave 
only the upper shoots without 
cutting at the foot. 

§ 3. Spring Frosts 

The earth, dampened by win- 
ter rains and snows, emits vapours 
upon being heated by the spring 
sun. These vapours disappear grad- 
ually when the weather is mild, 
but they condense near the sur- 



156 Vinei/ards of France 

face of the earth if the air is cold, 
and cover the wood and the shoots 
of the vine, resulting in hoar frost. 
The spring frosts are not in- 
jurious unless the shoots have 
started to grow. The vine is 
scarcely likely to suffer by such 
frosts before its shoots begin their 
growth; but whenever this hap- 
pens, the vine is said to have been 
frozen "en bourre." Spring frosts 
are seldom sufficiently severe to 
give rise to this phenomenon, 
which, however, has been ob- 
served occasionally. Since the 
coldness of the air is more pro- 
nounced at sunrise, that is, at the 



. Part III 157 

end of the night, it is at such a time 
that the hoar frost is more notice- 
able, both on the surface of the 
earth and on the vines and other 
plants. Hoar frost is likely to oc- 
cur after a fall of snow or a hail- 
storm. 

Vineyards located in the prox- 
imity of forests are more liable to 
hoar frost because the earth is 
generally cooler, and, moreover, 
the forest ads as a screen against 
the wind. 

Lowlands are also liable to 
hoar frost because they are less 
exposed to the wind, and because 
the vapours are heaviest, owing to 



158 VineT/ards of France 

the greater moisture of such lands, 
which serve the purpose of sewers 
for those adjoining. Dry, raised, 
and exposed lands are better pro- 
tecSled against hoar frost for the 
reasons explained above. 

Whenever hoar frost occurs, 
if the sun appears before the frost 
is melted, the heat of its rays 
scorches the bud and it dries up, 
becomes black, and is transformed 
into powder. These efFedls become 
noticeable after a few hours of 
sunshine. 

When the budding shoot has 
attained a sufficient development, 
that is, when it is one-half a foot 



Part III 159 

long, or even longer, and its leaves 
are fully developed and its grapes 
begin to appear, it happens very 
often that the leaves and the 
grapes are still green and fresh 
after a hoar frost. But in reality 
great harm has been wrought if 
the point of the bud has been 
bitten by the frost, which is made 
apparent by the fad: that such a 
tip looks withered and drooping. 
Whenever this happens, no grapes 
are to be exped ed from the stricken 
shoot, which miscarries, owing to 
the stoppage of the sap circula- 
tion brought about by the with- 
ering of the point. 



i6o Vineyards of France 

The vapours from a river, since 
they are warmer than the vapours 
arising from the earth, often ad: 
as a protection against hoar frost 
for adjoining vines, whenever the 
wind blows from the river. Vine- 
yards have been known to have 
been protected against hoar frosts 
by a brick kiln, whose smoke was 
being carried by the wind toward 
the vineyard, while all the ad- 
joining vegetation was destroyed 
by the frost. 

Whenever, during the spring, 
hoar frost is threatening, one 
should abstain from doing any 
work in vineyards and even from 



Part III i6i 

mere weeding. By even slightly 
disturbing the earth, the vapours 
are afforded a more unobstructed 
and freer passage, and are more 
likely to cause hoar frost. 

Nothing is more likely to 
originate hoar frost in vineyards 
than the spreading or digging up 
of manure. Owing to its inherent 
heat, it emits large quantities of 
vapours, which are condensed 
upon the wood and the buds by 
the coldness of the air. 

§ 4. About Hail 

Large dry hail-stones, driven by 
a strong wind, destroy the grape 



1 62 Vineyards of France 

and break or wither the shoot. 
Even such grapes as have escaped 
diredl damage from the hail are 
hkely to suffer, owing to the fad: 
that the vine, stripped of its shoots, 
grows new ones, which deprive 
the grapes of their nourishment. 
The berries are smaller and the 
quality of the wine is inferior. 

Whenever hail falls toward 
the end of the month of June, or 
even later, the vine is unable to 
bring to maturity the new shoots 
grown, and the harm wrought is 
still felt in the following year, 
when a scarcity of shoots capable 
of producing grapes is noticed. 



Part III 163 

If hail strikes a vineyard near 
vintage time, it bruises the berries, 
and if these berries dry up before 
the vintage, they impart to the 
wine a sour taste, which detracts 
from its quaUty and makes it 
Uable to turn sour. To obviate this 
trouble, it is necessary, when 
gathering the grapes, carefully to 
pluck out these hail-stricken 
berries. 

§ 5. Dropping Off and ^'■'Tacon'' 

The dropping off arises from 
two causes: namely, from defi- 
cient or excessive sap in the vine. 
The deficiency of sap is due to 



164 Vineyards of France 

dryness of the earth, and the ex- 
cess of sap to excessive moisture 
of the soil. 

In the former case the earth 
does not supply a sufficient quan- 
tity of sap to afford suitable nour- 
ishment to its shoots and to its 
grapes. In the latter, the circu- 
lation of the sap being too force- 
ful, the grapes are not afforded 
sufficient time to ripen, and there- 
fore miscarry. 

These accidents are especially 
to be feared when the vine is blos- 
soming and the grapes are form- 
ing. Since this is generally the 
time at which the second tilling 



Part III 165 

is performed, it should be carried 
out with the utmost care, as stated 
above. 

The dropping from the vine is 
characterized by the vine shed- 
ding its grape bunches, which fall 
under the stocks. Sometimes only 
the berries are shed, and the grape 
bunches remaining on the stock 
appear very thinly provided with 
berries. There are still other 
bunches which preserve all their 
berries, but the latter are so small 
that even upon becoming ripe, 
they are not larger than a pin- 
head. Such grapes furnish very 
little wine, the stalks absorbing 



1 66 Vineyards of France 

almost as much juice as is ex- 
traded from the berries. 

When the dropping off has 
begun, the harm is continuous to 
vintage time, unless the weather 
becomes exceptionally favourable 
through alternations of rain and 
clear hot weather. 

The "tacon" is the wither- 
ing of the shoots or the grapes, 
caused by cold rains and espe- 
cially by large water drops formed 
by melting hail falling scattered 
when the weather is warm and 
the sun appears. The "tacon" 
withers the berry, scorches the 
bud, and harms the wood in such 



Part III 167 

a way as to make it necessary to 
cut the blighted shoot and to 
tend most carefully any shoots 
which may have been even slightly 
stricken. 

"Tacon "-stricken grapes do 
not fail to grow, unless the stalk 
has been harmed, but some of 
them wither. 

CHAPTER II 

'Diseases of the Vine 

THE diseases of the vine are 
the rust, the blight, and 
the scurf. 

When a vine is attacked by 
rust, its leaves appear withered, 



1 68 Vineyards of France 

drooping, and of a faint green. 
This marks the beginning of the 
bUght. 

When bhght develops, the 
leaves shrink and turn yellow in- 
stead of being broad and green. 

The blight is caused either by 
excess of moisture or by dryness ; 
by excess of moisture in such soils 
as retain the w^ater, the roots 
eventually rotting and therefore 
being unable to nourish the stock ; 
by dryness, when the surface layer 
is too thin, the stock withering 
from lack of nourishment. 

Age and sometimes the im- 
proper tilling of the soil give rise 



Part III 169 

to these same results, irrespedive 
of the quaUty of the soil. 

Whenever these accidents oc- 
cur on account of the age of the 
vine, there is no alternative left 
but to pull out the vines and to 
replant the vineyard. 

If the accidents are due to the 
improper tilling of the soil, the 
troubles experienced maybe over- 
come by a proper tilling per- 
formed at the proper time. 

If they are caused by the 
moisture of the earth, there is no 
possible remedy, and the land 
should be considered as unfit for 
vine-growing. 



lyo VineT/ards of France 

If they are caused by the dry- 
ness of the soil, as a general rule, 
the trouble experienced may be 
eliminated by dumping upon the 
soil new earth, taken from swamps 
or ditches. In this way the ne- 
cessary moisture is given to the 
soil, which remains damp for a 
long time to come. 

The scurf is a kind of dry gum 
which forms on the stock. It is 
caused by a stoppage in the cir- 
culation of the sap, which does 
not have sufficient force to climb 
higher and thus stops at that point. 
Vines planted in light and moist 
soils are liable to this disease. 



Part III 171 

The shoot attacked by scurf 
should be cut near the stock, and 
if in the following year it is found 
decaying, it will be necessary to 
pull it out and to replace it either 
by layering or by planting. 

CHAPTER III 
InseBs Injurious to the Vine 
§ I . Vine-grubs 

THE vine-grubs are the most 
dangerous of all. These in- 
serts have the general aspe6t and 
colour of beetles, but they are 
much smaller and almost invisible. 
They come out of the earth at a 
time when the bud has already 



172 Vineyards of France 

attained a certain development. 
They eat it away, perforating the 
leaves and splitting open the ber- 
ries to absorb the juice. About the 
end of August they dig again into 
the earth and eat the roots of the 
vine throughout the whole winter 
and part of the spring. 

The vine attacked by these in- 
serts may be easily recognized by 
the fad that its leaves are full of 
small holes and have a sieve-like 
appearance. This is the result of 
their summer adivity. Further- 
more, the shoots are short and 
slender and the berries very thinly 



Part III 173 

scattered and poorly developed. 
This is because the roots of the 
vine have been eaten away by 
these inseds throughout the win- 
ter, which causes the sap to be 
lost through the wounds thus in- 
flicted. In time the sap becomes 
insufficient to nourish the stock, 
which sooner or later dies. 

Vineyards planted in light soils 
are more likely to be attacked by 
these inseds. Heavy soils, which 
are more compad, are less liable 
to be infested by these grubs, as 
they find it more difficult to pen- 
etrate into such soils. Several 



174- Vineyards of France 

methods resorted to for their de~ 
strudion have proved unsuccess- 
ful. 

Cold rains in the course of the 
summer have been found to be 
the only effedive means of de- 
stru6lion. In default of this nat- 
ural remedy, no other is known 
except to pull out the vines so at- 
tacked, and to leave the soil fal- 
low for about two years. The grubs 
then die for lack of nourishment 
or migrate to another soil. 

§ 2 . Wine-weevils 

The wine-weevils are small, 
perfedly round inseds and appear 



Part III 175 

on the ground when the shoot is 
about half a foot long. They stick 
to the shoot, splitting it and the 
berries, and laying their eggs on 
the leaves, which appear covered 
with small dots and become dry 
and drooping. 

It is sometimes necessary to 
pluck out these weevils in view 
of their large number and of the 
damage they are inflidting upon 
the vines. 

A means of destroying this pest 
has been tried, which it is claimed 
has proved successful. A few hemp 
seeds, ten or twelve feet apart, are 
planted along the middle of each 



176 Vineyards of France 

bed, beginning at the end of the 
bed. It is claimed that the smell 
of this plant will drive away these 
pests, or cause their destruction. 
But in order to prevent the vine 
being injured by the growth of 
the hemp, the latter should be 
pulled out as soon as one can 
reasonably exped: the weevils to 
have disappeared definitely. The 
worms, which are found on the 
blossoming grapes, are hatched, 
according to a certain opinion, 
from the eggs of the wine-weevils. 
In cool and damp weather 
the growth of the blossoms is 
much retarded. Dry and mod- 



Part III 177 

erate weather quickens the blos- 
soming and causes the destrudion 
of these pests. The weevils do not 
leave the grapes until the vintage. 

§ 3. Beetles and Other InseBs 

Beetles eat away the vine as 
they do trees. A month after mak- 
ing their appearance they fall to 
the ground, where they lay their 
eggs, which are hatched in a few 
days, producing small worms, 
which later dig into the earth, and 
feed on the roots of the vine until 
they appear as beetles. These small 
worms come out of the earth at 
the beginning of May. Whenever 



178 Vineyards of France 

they are prevented from doing 
so by abnormally cold or dry 
weather, the vine is likely to suf- 
fer still more, since being older 
and larger they have greater 
strength to gnaw the roots. 

The worms are especially fond 
ofyoung plants, the roots of which 
are more tender, and it happens 
very often that the plant attacked 
withers away and dies. This has 
been proved beyond doubt by ex- 
posing the roots of plants which 
have died, these pests having been 
found adhering to the roots. 

It is dangerous to plant when- 
ever practically no beetles are 



Part III 179 

noticed on the ground, especially 
if the soil is light, as they are more 
prevalent in such soils than in 
heavy ones. 

Sometimes their number is so 
great as to make it necessary to 
hire labourers to destroy them. The 
proper time for this work is at 
dawn, before the air warms, as 
then these inseds fly away. They 
are found sleeping on the leaves. 
As fast as they are colleded, they 
should be placed in a receptacle 
and burned. 

Snails likewise stick to the buds 
and afterward to the grapes when 
they begin to ripen. They eat 



i8o Vineyards of France 

the growing bud and damage the 
grapes by their trail, making the 
wine fatty. They are more prev- 
alent in vineyards located near 
hedges or walls, where they find 
good shelter. They should be 
sought there, especially after a 
heavy dew-fall or a warm rain, as 
they then leave their shelter. 

Caterpillars likewise eat the 
blossoming bud. As they gener- 
ally come from adjoining trees or 
hedges, such trees or hedges should 
be carefully freed from these pests 
in the course of the winter, when 
the eggs of these inseds are still 
enclosed in their sheaths. 



Part III i8i 

Besides the eggs enclosed in 
the sheaths, other eggs are laid 
all around the branches without 
sheaths in small coiled strings. 
The latter are very difficult to 
deted. 

There is a kind of caterpillar 
which comes out of the earth at 
springtime and sinks again into 
the soil in the autumn. They can- 
not be destroyed except by pick- 
ing them out as soon as they ap- 
pear. 



?^ ^ 

patt 3lo 
The Vintage 

CHAPTER I 

preparations for the Vintage 
§1. Wine-press 

EXTENSIVE repair work as 
regards the tubs, the crush- 
ing troughs, and the wine-press 
should not be delayed until vin- 
tage time. Cask makers and car- 
penters are extremely busy then 
and one runs the risk of being 
poorly served and of paying very 
high prices. This repair work 
should be done in May or June. 
If it becomes necessary to make 



184 Vineyards of France 

a new wine-press, the above ap- 
plies even more forcibly. 

In this distrid: by the term 
"anchot" there is designated a 
round container similar to the 
tub, but having a smaller capa- 
city. As a rule tubs have a capa- 
city of from five to ten puncheons 
of wine together with the marc. 
The "anchot" is a kind of half 
size tub having a capacity of three 
or four puncheons of wine with 
or without the marc. 

The"anche"isan oval-shaped 
container having, as a rule, a ca- 
pacity of one and a half punch- 
eons without marc. It is placed 



Part IV 185 

under the spout of the wine-press 
to hold the wine as it flows from 
the press. 

The crushing troughs will be 
described in due course. 

The two-shaft wine-press was 
pradically the only type used of 
old, and as they wear out, they 
are being replaced by wheel wine- 
presses. 

The main difference between 
these two types of wine-presses is 
that the main parts of the former 
are two large square shafts, one of 
which is placed under the bottom 
of the press and carries the stress of 
the other when the pressure is ex- 



1 86 Vineyards of France 

erted, while the latter is held fast 
by one of its ends, a screw being 
fitted at its free end. By means of 
this screw the shaft is lowered for 
compressing, whereby the crushed 
grapes, generally called "marc," 
are squeezed and their juice is ex- 
tracted. 

The second type of wine-press 
is provided with only one large 
shaft under the bottom of the 
press, the upper shaft being re- 
placed by a medium size wooden 
piece called the "beam." 

This beam brings the pressure 
to bear upon the middle axis of 
the planks which cover the marc. 



Part IV 187 

It is suspended by means of a 
dowel from a screw-fitted wheel, 
the screw engaging the nut. 

For pressing the marc, the 
wheel is lowered by means of a 
cable, one end of which is fastened 
to the wheel, the other end being 
fastened to a vertical pivoted pole. 

This pivoted pole, which is 
ereded at a distance of twelve to 
eighteen feet from the wine-press, 
is turned by means of two levers, 
which are generally called "de- 
moiselles," four men pushing the 
ends. 

It is true that the old type wine- 
press is more powerful and that it 



1 88 Vineyards of France 



extracts a larger quantity of wine. 
However, the other type is also 
sufficiently powerful and, more- 
over, it may be built large enough 
to allow of ten to twelve mea- 
sures of wine being obtained at a 
time. 

The greatest objedtions against 
the two-shaft wine-press are that, 
first, the original cost is higher; 
second, they are more difficult to 
operate; third, they are much 
more bulky; fourth, repairs are 
more costly. 

It happens very often that the 
repairs made entail a necessity 
for further repairs, because this 



Part IV 189 

wine-press being made up of only 
large parts, a new part, owing to 
its stiffness, is liable to occasion 
the breakage of an old part, which 
has then to be replaced. 

§ 2. hiens 

When the vintage is plentiful, 
and the wine expensive, some 
land-owners are wont to have a 
second-grade wine made, called 
"Liens." 

For this purpose an open 
puncheon is filled up to two- 
thirds of its height with grapes, 
which are then crushed, the 
puncheon being afterward filled 



190 Vineyards of France 

with water. It is then sunk in 
dregs, without being bunged, and, 
in order to quicken the boiHng 
process, one to two pints of brandy 
are added. 

This process is carried out eight 
or ten days before vintage time. 
For this purpose grapes are se- 
leded which are not as yet thor- 
oughly ripe and are still slightly 
green, in order to prevent this 
drink from becoming less agree- 
able, owing to excessive sweetness. 

§ 3. 'Tubs and Casks 

From eight to ten days before 
vintage time, it is necessary to 



Part IV 191 

mount the new casks, to refit the 
old ones, to put in shape the tubs 
and the"anchots,"and a few days 
later to tighten the screw of 
the wine-press. Furthermore, the 
planks of the press should be laid 
on the bottom of the press and 
should be flooded with water to 
clean and soak them, after the 
spout has been stopped up. The 
tubs, the "anches," and the "an- 
chots" should be likewise soaked. 
This water is drained off on the eve 
of the vintage, and it is replaced 
several times by fresh clean water 
until the water remains perfedly 
clear. 



192 Vineyards of France 

In order to drain the tubs be- 
fore filling them with grapes, they 
are slightly tipped toward the 
bottom of the wine-press. They 
are then thoroughly dried with a 
sponge, which is also used for dry- 
ing the tub after the fermented 
grapes have been emptied into 
the press. 

Whenever a container has ac- 
quired an unpleasant smell since 
the last vintage, herbs having a 
strong smell are used to purify the 
tub, such as sage, thyme, marjo- 
ram, etc. These herbs are boiled in 
a large cauldron, and the boiling 
water is then poured into the 



Part IV 193 

container, which is thoroughly- 
washed and scrubbed. The con- 
tainer is afterward rinsed several 
times in succession with clear 
water, until the odour has disap- 
peared. 

No fodder should be stored 
in the wine-press room, especially 
near the press and the tubs, as 
there is the risk of the candles 
used at night, when making the 
wine, starting a fire. 



194 Vineyards of France 

CHAPTER II 
Wine Casks 
§ I. Proper Time for Buying the Casks 

IS it advantageous or not to 
buy the puncheons during the 
winter? This is a problem which 
each one solves according to his 
inclinations. Here are a few con- 
siderations in this regard. 

There is no doubt but that 
casks can be bought more cheaply 
during the winter as the maker is 
then satisfied with a small profit, 
because with the cash he re- 
ceives he is enabled to buy at the 
low price prevailing at that time 
of the year new materials for 



Part IV 195 

making a further lot of casks, to 
be sold at a higher price during 
the year. 

Against this advantage there 
are to be set off the accidents to 
which the vine is exposed; such 
as winter and summer frosts, hail, 
and the dropping off of the blos- 
soms. 

In such cases one finds one's 
self with a large number of punch- 
eons on hand which are useless 
for the current year, and which 
in the following year will not 
be as good as new ones, and will 
no longer be guaranteed by the 
maker, and this without taking 



196 Vinei/ardf of France 



into account the fa6i: that the out- 
lay has been made two years ear- 
her than necessary. 

As a rule, the prices of casks 
advance as vintage time ap- 
proaches. However, when the 
crop is not very plentiful, the 
increase is not sufficient to make 
it desirable to purchase punch- 
eons in advance. 

Generally, it is sufficient to 
buy the casks when all danger of 
the dropping off of the grapes has 
passed. It is not advisable to wait 
any longer, as the middle course 
is the best. 

The problem is more serious in 



Part IV 197 

plentiful years. In such years, as 
soon as there is no further danger 
of the blossoms dropping off, 
and even as soon as the vine blos- 
soms, the weather being otherwise 
favourable, the price of punch- 
eons increases and keeps on in- 
creasing until the vintage is fin- 
ished. It has happened at times 
that their cost has exceeded the 
value of the wine contained in 
them. 

Whenever a plentiful vintage 
is forecasted, the best course ap- 
parently is to buy, as soon as the 
danger of frosts is past, and before 
the blossoming, one half of the 



198 Vineyards of France 

puncheons which will be re- 
quired at vintage time, the other 
half being bought after there is no 
danger of the blossoms dropping 
off. In this way the risk of buy- 
ing too many or too few casks 
will be avoided as far as possible, 
and they will be procured at a 
moderate price. 

In plentiful years, besides the 
danger of having to pay very high 
prices for the casks wanted if the 
purchase is delayed, there is the 
further risk of being supplied with 
poorly made casks, since the man- 
ufacturers are obliged to employ 
all available workmen, without 



Part IV 199 

regard to their skill, and the latter 
work rapidly in order to earn more 
money, inasmuch as they are paid 
very high job rates. 

Furthermore, toward the end 
of the season, the makers are 
obliged to use waste wood to- 
gether with good wood. It results 
therefrom that in spite of the 
strid: supervision exercised on the 
wine after the vintage, a large 
quantity is unavoidably lost. 

The spare or extra puncheons 
are especially subject to this trou- 
ble, being the last made. 

It is advisable to have the 
puncheons carried to the coun- 



200 Vinei/ardf of France 

try a few months before the vin- 
tage. They are then afforded suf- 
ficient time to season before being 
mounted in place. 

They should not be mounted 
until eight or ten days before the 
vintage. They are tighter when 
filled, as they have not had time 
to dry and become leaky. 

§ 2. ^ality and Making of the Casks 

The puncheons, as well as the 
half puncheons or quarts, should 
be made of new oak wood with- 
out any red wood or orchard 
wood either for the heads or for 
the staves. The bung stave, which 



Part IV 20I 

may be made of red wood, is ex- 
cepted from this rule. This prac- 
tice is wrong, but has been au- 
thorized by the by-laws of the bar- 
rel and cask makers. Soft wood is 
always leaky, and the leaking wine 
wets and disintegrates the hoops, 
and proves injurious to the 
puncheon. 

When the casks are made with 
comparatively thin staves, the 
puncheons have a larger capacity 
in spite of the fad: that their outer 
dimensions do not appear to be 
any larger. However, thin staves 
are liable to split, especially when 
the hoops are driven in, not being 



202 Vineyards of France 

sufficiently strong to withstand 
the knocks of the workman's mal- 
let. 

If the staves are very wide, 
the puncheon may be built with 
fourteen of them, but it is advan- 
tageous to use a few more. The 
greater the number used, the 
rounder the cask and the more 
its capacity is increased. 

Three and four part bottoms 
are the best. However, one may 
use five part bottom casks, but no 
bottom with more than five parts 
should be permitted. 

The puncheons should have an 
outer length of two and one-half 



Part IV 203 

feet, including the chime, which 
should be four inches and four 
Hnes, including the groove. The 
inner length between the chimes 
should therefore be twenty-five 
inches and four lines. 

The outer circumference of the 
puncheon at the height of the bung 
should be exadly seven feet. The 
puncheon should have a capa- 
city of two hundred and ten to 
two hundred and twelve pints, 
including the dregs, Orleans mea- 
sure; that is, two thousand and 
forty-five pints, Paris measure, the 
Orleans measure being one-sixth 
larger than the Paris measure. 



204 Vineyards of France 

These two measures are in the ratio 
of five to six. 

The half puncheon or quart 
should be two feet long and five 
and a half feet in circumference 
at the height of the bung, the 
inner length between the chimes 
being a foot and a half. Each 
chime should be one inch and ten 
lines, including the groove. Its 
capacity should be from one hun- 
dred and five to one hundred and 
six pints, including the dregs. 

The quart, in spite of the fad: 
that it is in reality a half punch- 
eon, is so called because, besides 
being one half of a puncheon, it 



Part IV 205 

is at the same time the quarter of 
a hogshead, which is equal to two 
puncheons. 

A puncheon should be as- 
sembled by means of eighteen 
hoops, four on each side of the 
middle cross-sedion and five at 
each end. If assembled with a less 
number of hoops, it can be re- 
jected. A quart should have four- 
teen hoops, the same applying to 
the half quart. 

A bundle of hoops is made up 
of twenty-four, and a half bundle 
of twelve hoops. The large hoops 
for the tubs and the anchots are 
sold in bundles of six. The hoops 



2o6 Vinei/ards of France 

should be made either of oak (oak 
hoops are the best) or of birch; 
chestnut is even better, but it is 
rather uncommon. The best tub 
hoops come from high country, 
from Roanne to Nevers. Cologne 
hoops are also in current use, but 
they are not as good. 

It would be advisable to use 
iron hoops for the tubs and the 
anchots. They are more costly, 
but they last indefinitely, whereas 
wooden hoops have to be replaced 
at frequent intervals. 

Whenever old casks are used, 
they should be washed with two 
or three quarts of boiling water 



Part IV 207 

after having been bunged up. If 
the casks have any defeats, such 
as distortions, etc., they are re- 
vealed by a whistling sound oc- 
casioned by the air expanded by 
the heat rushing through the de- 
fective spots. 

Afterwards they should be 
rinsed with fresh water until the 
discharged water is perfectly clean 
and clear. In this manner one may 
ascertain by careful inspection that 
the cask has absolutely no odour. 

It would be advisable to take 
the same precautions in connec- 
tion with new casks. This would 
make it possible to discover their 



2o8 Vineyards of France 

defects, if any. Furthermore, the 
hot water would dissolve the paint 
and prevent it from mixing with 
the wine. 

Generally, they are merely 
cleansed with fresh water, some 
of which is left in the casks for a 
few hours, in order to soak the 
wood, to make the heads tight, 
and to swell the staves. But this 
cold water washing does not offer 
the advantages of the hot water 
washing. The only reason why 
the latter is not resorted to, es- 
pecially when the crop is plenti- 
ful, is that it takes too long. 



Part IV 209 

CHAPTER III 

Proper Time for Gathering the Grapes 

THE proper time for gather- 
ing the grapes is when they 
are perfectly ripe. Unless they are 
ripe, the wine cannot be good. 

The ripeness of the grapes is 
shown when a berry plucked from 
the bunch does not have a small 
red mark at its lower end around 
its point. Furthermore, thor- 
oughly ripe grapes are plucked 
from the stalk without offering 
the slightest resistance. 

However, overripe "Auver- 
nat" becomes withered, its juice 
becomes thick, it gives a lesser 



2IO Vineyards of France 

yield of wine, and its wine is liable 
to become fatty. To avoid this, it 
is necessary, especially when the 
weather has been very warm, to 
gather the grapes before they are 
completely ripened. This slight 
unripeness does not affed: perma- 
nently the taste of the wine, and 
generally increases its strength. 

When the blossoming has ex- 
tended over a long period, the 
grapes even of the same stock are 
apt to ripen at different times, the 
bunches which have been the first 
to shed their blossoms being the 
first to ripen. In this case it is 
better to delay the vintage for 



Part IV 211 

some days, even at the risk of los- 
ing a few bunches through over- 
ripeness. In the mean time the 
other bunches will ripen and 
make up for this loss, both in the 
quantity and quality of the wine. 

If the rain falls near vintage 
time, a few days should elapse be- 
fore the grapes are gathered, in 
order that the grapes may profit 
therefrom. That the grapes grow 
in size after such rain is evi- 
denced by those found strewn 
under the stalks, which have been 
forced out of the bunches by the 
growth of the other berries. 

Prolonged rainfalls near vin- 



212 Vineyards of France 



tage time are apt to make a por- 
tion of the grapes rot before the 
rest are sufficiently ripe to be gath- 
ered. It would be dangerous to 
leave these rotten grapes on the 
vine, as they would find their way 
into the tub eventually, in spite 
of any previous picking, and im- 
part to the wine an unpleasant 
taste; those who gather the grapes 
are never sufficiently careful, and 
they cannot be relied upon to pick 
the rotten berries with the care 
necessary. 

The ripest grapes are the ones 
most apt to rot, and experience 
has shown how they may be taken 



Part IV 213 

advantage of. They should be gath- 
ered a few days before vintage 
time and carried at once to the 
wine-press table without passing 
through the fermenting tubs, and 
immediately crushed by the beat- 
ers, as in the case of white grapes. 
The wine is good, and does not 
have the mouldy taste which is 
chara6i:eristic of the wine ob- 
tained from white grapes left too 
long on the vine before being 
gathered. 

Since the colour is imparted to 
the wine when the grapes are fer- 
mented in the tub, this wine, made 
in the same way as white wine. 



214 Vineyards of France 

is colourless. This defe6t may be 
easily correded, and the wine may 
be either sold at a lower price or 
kept for personal use. Thus the 
necessity of wasting any portion 
of the grapes is avoided. Experi- 
ence has shown conclusively that 
favourable results may be obtained 
in this way. 

CHAPTER IV 

How to Make Wine 

IN order to insure the proper 
making of the wine, attention 
should be paid to the colour and 
to the strength. 

The colour depends, first, on 



Part IV 215 

the selection of the grapes; second, 
on the manner of crushing. 



§ I . SeleBion of Grapes 

We have in this territory two 
main varieties of red grapes. 

The first variety is the " Auver- 
nat." It is identical with the " Pi- 
neau" of Burgundy, and gives in 
the southwestern district, as in 
Burgundy, the best wine. 

Besides the "Auvernat-black," 
we have also an " Auvernat-grey," 
which owes its name to its par- 
ticular colour, and we have also 
•another variety called " coloured 
Auvernat." These latter varieties 



2i6 Vineyards of France 

are grown only on a small scale, 
owing to the too weak colour of 
the former and the too dark colour 
of the latter. 

The second main variety is the 
"Fromente-black," called also 
"Meunier," because of the white 
down covering the back of its 
leaves. Its wine is very good, 
even though it is inferior to the 
"Auvernat" wine. It is not as 
fine and it does not keep as 
well. 

Generally, the two varieties 
are gathered at different times in 
order to make the wine separate- 
ly. The "Auvernat "ripens at least 



Part IV 217 

eight days before the "Fromente." 
The "Auvernat-black," gath- 
ered alone and without a mixture, 
gives the wine which has, more- 
over, a sufficiently developed 
colour. 

However, it happens some- 
times that the " Fromente-black," 
either on account of its being 
planted in warmer soils, or because 
of the immaturity of the plants, 
ripens at the same time as the 
<« Auvernat." As the " Fromente" 
is next to the "Auvernat" in 
point of quality, it may be gath- 
ered at the same time and may be 
mixed in the same tub. Care should 



2i8 Vineyards of France 

be taken that the mixture con- 
tains at least two-thirds of " Au- 
vernat." In this way body is im- 
parted to the wine without de- 
tracting from its quahty. 

If unripe "Fromente" is mixed 
with "Auvernat," even though 
the latter is perfectly ripe, the 
former, its charadteristic proper- 
ties being still undeveloped, 
weakens the ''Auvernat," and 
imparts to it a certain acidity 
which proves most injurious. 

When there are on hand 
either coloured or grey "Auver- 
nat "grapes, they should be appor- 
tioned among the different tubs, in 



Part IV 219 

order to equalize the strength and 
the colour of the wine, the grey 
"Auvernat" being of a weaker 
colour and the coloured "Auver- 
nat" of a more inferior quality 
than the "Auvernat-black." 

The ^'Auvernat- white" and 
the "Melier," which sometimes 
ripen at the same time as the 
"Auvernat-black," and whose 
quantity is generally too small to 
allow of their being used for the 
making of a special white wine, 
should likewise be apportioned 
among the different tubs in order 
to prevent too much alteration 
of the colour of the wine. 



220 Vinei/ards of France 



§ 2. How to Crush Grapes 

One method of crushing grapes 
consists in arranging on each tub 
a crusher into which the dorsal 
carriers discharge their load upon 
their arrival from the vineyard, 
instead of emptying it diredly 
into the tub. Since the crusher has 
a capacity of only five or six dor- 
sals, it is easy to make sure that 
all the berries have been crushed, 
and if the wine pours into the tub 
with all of them thoroughly 
crushed, it is unnecessary to trans- 
fer it into another container. 

The crusher is a kind of un- 
covered cage mounted on a sup- 



Part IV 221 

port, to which it is fastened and 
which is used to carry it about. It 
is square and made of sound oak 
planks, and has four sides and a 
bottom. The latter is pierced with 
holes, like a sieve, and lets the 
wine flow through, retaining the 
stalks and berries. Two opposite 
sides are provided with a trap, 
which are raised at the end of 
each operation, in order to dis- 
charge the marc into the tub, 
which is done by pushing the 
crushed grapes through the open- 
ing with the beater. 



222 Vinei/ards of France 

§ 3 . How Far the Tub Process should be 
Pushed 

Red wine acquires its colour 
by boiling in the tub. The juice 
of red grapes is in itself white. 
That this is undoubtedly so is 
proved by the fad that Cham- 
pagne white wine is made of black 
grapes crushed in the wine-press 
as soon as they are gathered, and 
without their passing through the 
tub. 

The longer the crushed grapes 
stay in the tub and the longer the 
boiling, the deeper coloured the 
wine. The shorter the stay in the 
tub, the lighter and more agreeable 



Part IV 223 

the wine, but at the same time it is 
more apt to spoil. Wine which has 
remained too long in the tub is 
said to have been "forced." Wine 
too dark loses its quality, cannot be 
drunk for several years, and is sour 
and raw. The sour taste is im- 
parted by the stalk, and the colour 
by the skin. 

Wine is not considered to have 
been thoroughly fermented until 
the boiling has brought to the 
surface of the liquid all the marc, 
which then floats in the upper part 
of the tub. Near the end of the 
boiling process the marc settles 
down, and if it is not immediately 



224 Vineyards of France 

borne to the press, in less than a 
quarter of an hour the wine is 
"forced." 

BoiUng of the wine in the tub 
begins earUer or later, depending 
on the warmth of the weather 
prevaiHng at the time of the 
vintage. 

When the season is warm, care 
should be taken that the ferment- 
ing is properly regulated, because 
at such times the wine boils as soon 
as crushed. This is not a real boil- 
ing, however, as it is induced by 
the heat of the grapes and not by 
the fermentation of the must. 

When vintage is late, the 



Part IV 225 

weather is generally cool at the 
time of cutting the grapes. Then 
the dorsal carriers do not discharge 
the grapes either into the tub or 
into the crusher before ten o'clock 
in the morning. The grapes arriv- 
ing at the press before this hour are 
dumped into the"anchot" placed 
beside the tub. If these cool grapes 
were placed at the bottom of the 
tub, their coolness would retard 
the boiling, as it is the bottom 
layer which furnishes the neces- 
sary heat. 

In this case the grapes crushed 
the first are those arriving at the 
press after ten o'clock. After din- 



226 Vineyards of France 

ner the grapes which arrived be- 
fore ten o'clock are crushed. 

At the same time the grapes 
which are coming in during the 
day from the vineyard are crushed. 
In this way the coolness of the first 
incoming grapes is offset by mix- 
ing with the grapes which are 
brought in later. 

The "Auvernat" boils more 
quickly than other varieties, as it 
is more fiery in itself. As this fire 
is extinguished by boiling, one 
should not wait until the boiling 
thoroughly subsides before draw- 
ing it from the tub and carrying 
it to the wine-press. Otherwise it 



Part IV 227 

would lose its quality and would 
have too dark a colour. 

As it is dangerous to wait until 
the marc begins to fall to the bot- 
tom to ascertain how far the boil- 
ing has progressed, because one 
may be easily caught with the 
boiling too far advanced and the 
wine "forced," and as wine is 
seldom permitted to boil up to this 
point, especially high grade wine, 
other means are resorted to in order 
to ascertain how far the fermenta- 
tion has gone. Some wine makers 
dip a stick into the tub and let the 
wine drip into a glass. If the wine 
makes a ring, that is, if upon fall- 



228 Vineyards of France 

ing into the glass it forms a ring 
of scum and foam, it is sufficiently 
fermented to be drawn. 

As the stick dipped into the 
tub does not draw a sufficient 
quantity of wine, some wine mak- 
ers, to make the experiment eas- 
ier, use a tin plate pumping pipe 
which is twice as long as an ordi- 
nary pumping pipe. To drive a 
passage for the pumping pipe 
a stick is dipped into the marc. 
This device pumps a sufficient 
quantity of wine to enable one to 
test the colour, odour, and taste 
of the wine. 

Sometimes one merely plunges 



Part IV 229 

the hand into the tub, withdraw- 
ing a handful of marc and smell- 
ing it. The boiling is continued 
as long as the odour is sweet 
and until a strong biting smell is 
emitted. 

Some wine makers provide a 
simple faucet at the bottom of 
the tub by which they draw the 
wine, from time to time, to ascer- 
tain how far the boiling has pro- 
gressed, or a strong copper faucet 
may be used for the same purpose, 
and also to draw all the wine 
from the tub in order to transfer 
it to the puncheons when suffi- 
ciently boiled. 



230 Vineyards of France 

§ 4. How Long Grapes Picked from the 
Bunch should be permitted to Boil 

Whenever the vine has suf- 
fered from blossom dropping, the 
berries are either too small or too 
thinly scattered on the stalks, and 
the proportion of stalks in the 
marc becomes too great. Excess 
of stalks is apt to make the wine 
sour during the boiling process 
and to decrease the quantity of 
wine. To obviate these two diffi- 
culties, the grapes are picked from 
the bunches before being dumped 
into the tub, and each tub is thus 
filled with berries, without stalks. 

Some owners have all their 



Part IV 231 

grapes picked from the bunch. 
When this is done, the wine may 
be allowed to boil in the tub with- 
out any fear of its being forced, 
as the forcing is occasioned solely 
by the stalks. In such a case, one 
may permit one's self to be guided 
by the colour so as to ascertain 
when the marc should be carried 
to the press. 

Wine made from grapes picked 
from the bunch is more delicate, 
rawness being imparted by the 
stalks. However, such wine is 
more likely to spoil. Furthermore, 
in such a case, to prevent its be- 
coming fatty, the grapes should 



232 Vineyards of France 

be gathered before they are thor- 
oughly ripe. 

To remove berries from the 
stalks, the large, round wicker 
basket from three to four feet in 
diameter, with sides five to six 
inches high, and a flat bottom, is 
used, the twined wicker leaves 
forming small square holes of 
about an inch all around the 
basket, affording a passage for the 
berries and the skins, but retain- 
ing the stalks. 

When this appliance is used, an 
" anchot ' ' is placed beside the tub, 
and on its surface the two levers 
which are used to turn the pivoted 



Part IV 233 

hole of the wine-press, generally 
called '* demoiselles," in order to 
afford a base for the basket. The 
man beating the grapes, instead of 
discharging the crushed grapes 
directly into the tub, takes them 
up with a bucket and dumps them 
into the basket. The attendant 
then rubs the bunches against one 
another with his hands in order 
to detach the berries, which fall 
into the "anchot;" the stalks are 
then dumped into a container 
standing nearby. 

After this operation is com- 
pleted, the contents of the "an- 
chot" are poured into the tub. 



234 Vineyards of France 

The stalks are carried to the wine- 
press, where they are pressed only 
once to extract any wine they may 
still contain. The stalks of ten or 
twelve puncheons give approxi- 
mately fifty pints of wine, which 
is brought back to the tub. In spite 
of the acidity of this wine, such a 
small quantity is not likely to in- 
jure the rest, and this process al- 
lows even such a small amount 
being taken advantage of. 



Part IV 235 

CHAPTER V 

How to Regulate the Wine-press 

THE puncheons and the 
other casks should be ready 
by the time the wine is considered 
as having sufficiently fermented to 
permit the marc to be carried to the 
wine-press; that is, they should 
have been watered, made tight, 
dried, and mounted in rows on the 
scaffoldings, each cask resting be- 
tween two large stones to keep it 
steady. 

To take the marc to the wine- 
press, a man draws it from the tub 
with a bucket; to convey the 
bucket from the tub to the wine- 



236 Vtnej/ardf of France 

press, some wine makers have it 
passed from hand to hand, but this 
is a very long, tiresome, and waste- 
ful process. 

The best plan is to use an 
oak plank which has a one-inch 
groove extending along its whole 
length, sufficiently wide to receive 
the bucket. This plank is fastened 
at one end to the top of the tub 
and at the other end to the wine- 
press. 

A man standing near the tub 
places the bucket on the plank. 
The bucket slides by gravity along 
the groove towards the wine- 
press, where it is received by a 



Part IV 237 

second man, who in his turn hands 
it to the operator in charge of 
the wine-press. This handUng is 
shorter and less tiresome, and no 
wine is wasted. 

The marc is poured into the 
press in such a way as to fill it 
entirely, excepting a four or five 
inch space at each of the four cor- 
ners, which is intended for drain- 
ing the wine. The press is then 
covered with sound oak planks, 
which should projed: slightly all 
around the edge in order to insure 
a uniform pressure on the whole 
mass. 

Before setting the planks, two 



238 Vineyards of France 

poles should be placed across the 
marc at a distance of one foot from 
each end, for the purpose of sup- 
porting the planks and prevent- 
ing their sinking into the marc. 
Wine-growers call these poles 
"epingles." 

After the marc has been ar- 
ranged in the wine-press, the wine 
remaining in the tub is drawn out, 
and apportioned equally among 
all the puncheons which have 
been previously made ready for 
this purpose. 

The wine dripping from the 
marc in the wine-press before 



Part IV 239 

the pressing is then added, and 
even the wine expressed at the 
first pressing, which is called " set- 
thng of the shaft." 

All the puncheons are filled 
with this first wine, which is the 
finest, leaving a vacant space of 
about twenty-five pints. This va- 
cant space in each puncheon is 
filled afterward with expressed 
wine, divided equally among all 
the puncheons. 

As the marc is made up of the 
stalks of the bunches as well as of 
the skins of the berries, the whole 
mass being pressed together, ex- 



240 VineT/ards of France 

pressed wine is more raw than tub 
wine, but at the same time it 
keeps better. 

These are the two reasons why 
this wine is apportioned among 
all the puncheons, whereby the 
wine of all the puncheons of the 
same vintage is made of a uniform 
quality. 

Strictly speaking, only two men 
are required at the press, one to 
stand at the front and the other 
in the rear. However, it is wiser 
to employ three or even four men. 
A fourth man may be dispensed 
with except when it is necessary 
lo turn the press, and generally 



Part IV 241 

one finds sufficient help among 
his own people without having to 
resort to outsiders. 

Before placing the marc in the 
press, the screw should be lubri- 
cated throughout its whole length, 
and also the bottom of the piv- 
oting hole. A dry, oilless white 
soap which does not soil is used 
for this lubrication. 

The less the screw projects, 
the less the danger of its being 
broken. This is the reason why 
several stages of square wooden 
blocks, called by the wine-grower 
"couettes" or "coussins," are in- 
serted between the planks and the 



24-2 Vineyards of France 

beam. If the screw squeaks during 
the pressing, it should be lubri- 
cated again. The pressing should 
be done leisurely and uniformly, 
and a rest should be taken from 
time to time in order to allow the 
marc to be thoroughly crushed. 

The cable, one end of which 
is fastened to the pivot pole and 
the other to the wheel, should 
be wound twice around the 
latter in the first stage of the 
operation. 

During the first pressing, the 
marc which is soaked with wine 
is more easily and more quickly 
crushed than during the later 



Part IV 243 

stages, so that the cable unwinds 
much more quickly. This point 
should be taken into considera- 
tion lest one be caught unawares. 

If this precaution should be 
negleded, the men operating the 
press would be exposed to the 
danger of being wounded by the 
iron pin which supports the end 
ring of the cable. This pin, which 
is merely inserted in the rim of the 
wheel, would be hurled against 
the men together with the cable, if 
they continued to pull the cable 
after it had been completely un- 
wound. 

Four men, or five at the most. 



24-4 Vineyards of France 

are sufficient to operate a long 
shaft or a wheel press. By employ- 
ing a greater number of men, the 
risk is run of breaking some parts 
of the press, which of course 
would occasion a serious embar- 
rassment in the vintage work. 

After this first pressing, three 
further pressings follow. Before 
each of these operations, the col- 
umn of marc is cut on its four 
sides, and the marc so cut out is 
scattered on the surface of the col- 
umn, which is furthermore com- 
pressed toward its central axis in 
order to insure a better expression 
of the juice. 



Part IV 245 

The "Auvernat" should be 
pressed at once, in order to pre- 
vent the marc from becoming 
heated and the wine evaporating 
or turning sour. 

The marc may be permitted to 
drip from twelve to fifteen hours 
after the last pressing. The press 
is then loosened in order not to 
strain it uselessly. 



24-6 Vineyards of France 

CHAPTER VI 
How to Treat New Wine 

WINE in the cask should 
boil quickly, since this 
removes the greatest amount of 
impurities and better clarifies it. 
Wine thus boiled can be used 
sooner than that boiled slowly. 
For this purpose the casks should 
be filled daily for seven or eight 
days, and every second day there- 
after, until such time as they are 
covered. Moderately hot weather 
is likely to make boiled wine turn 
sour. 

For collecting the wine over- 
flowing; from the casks when the 

7 



Part IV 247 

wine boils, gutters and small ves- 
sels are employed. These troughs 
should be made of tin plate and 
not of lead, as the latter imparts 
an unpleasant taste to the wine. 
The troughs are fitted with a 
neck, which enters the bunghole 
of the puncheon and discharges 
into the vessel placed between two 
adjoining puncheons. Two gut- 
ters may discharge into the same 
vessel. 

When wine boils very actively, 
care should be taken to empty 
the troughs in order not to waste 
any. 

Wine overflowing from the 



248 Vineyards of France 

cask into the small vessel is poured 
into an open-mouthed receptacle, 
which is covered with a double 
cloth fastened by means of a ring 
in order to prevent the wine from 
becoming vapid. The scum and 
the dregs fall to the bottom. The 
wine above is good and may be 
used to fill the casks. 

Since only the thickest scum, 
which is absolutely useless, over- 
flows at first, the troughs and the 
vessels are not set in place until 
this occurs. 

After the wine has ceased boil- 
ing, all the casks should be 
sampled in order to ascertain 



Part IV 24.9 

which of the casks have the bet- 
ter flavour. 

As soon as the wine has ceased 
boiHng, it is covered to prevent 
its becoming vapid. For this pur- 
pose a vine leaf is generally used, 
which is held by a superposed tile 
or a bung turned on its largest 
side. The cask should be filled and 
bunged from six to eight days 
after such covering. At the same 
time a faucet should be driven be- 
side the bung, which should be 
left raised for a few days in order 
to prevent accidents in case of 
stresses originating from the wine. 

After the cask has been bunged. 



250 Vineyards of France 

it should be filled every fortnight 
up to the Feast of St. Andrew, 
the thirtieth of November, and 
then it should be left undisturbed 
until the end of the winter; that 
is, until the middle of February. 

When the casks are full, special 
care should be exercised to pre- 
vent freezing, as frost may occa- 
sion a splitting of the bottoms and 
a leakage of the wine. 

Since the casks containing new 
wine have to be unbunged very 
often, care should be taken to 
have the bung projed from the 
stave in order to facilitate its re- 
moval. In this way the necessity 



Part IV 251 

of piercing the bung with a bit, 
or of distorting by using a ham- 
mer, is prevented. 

In order to avoid unbunging 
the puncheons for filHng, some 
wine makers resort to a new 
method. Besides the ordinary fau- 
cet placed on the side of the bung 
to serve as a vent whenever this is 
necessary, they place a larger fau- 
cet on the other side, boring a hole 
sufficiently wide to receive the 
spout of an ordinary funnel by 
means of a large bit. 

Whenever they desire to fill the 
cask, they remove both the large 
and the small faucets, and pour 



252 VineT/ardf of France 

the wine through the large open- 
ing by means of a funnel. The 
small opening, besides serving as 
a vent, shows when the cask is full. 
In this way, since the faucets 
are easily fitted in place, one is as- 
sured that the cask is well closed, 
as the bung has not been removed. 
Now it is certain that the more 
carefully the cask is closed, the 
better the wine keeps. Nothing 
is more likely to spoil the wine 
than air penetrating the cask. 



Part IV 253 

CHAPTER VII 
White Wine 

WHITE wines are of two 
kinds, sweet and dry. 

The Muscats, otherwise called 
"Genetins," of St. Mesmin, Ma- 
rigny, and Rebrechien, are sweet. 
The grapes are gathered when 
they begin to rot, and, if possible, 
after they have been touched by 
a frost. The hotter the season, the 
sweeter the wine. These grapes re- 
main sweet for several months and 
are still very good after the sweet- 
ness has disappeared. 

Dry white wines are made of 
other grapes than the Muscat- 



254- Vinei/ardf of France 

Genetin, the "Melier" and the 
' ' Auvernat-white ' ' being the best; 
the former prevents the wine from 
becoming fatty; the latter makes 
it clearer and more agreeable. 
These grapes are mixed with in- 
ferior varieties, such as the "Fram- 
boise" (Raspberry), the "Gamet," 
and many others; but the greater 
the quantity used of the two first 
mentioned, the better the quality 
of the wine. 

If the soil is such as to produce 
a wine likely to become fatty, a 
small degree of sourness is im- 
parted. 

White wine is not fermented 



Part IV 255 

in the tub. White grapes are 
brought to the wine-press diredly 
from the vineyard, and are ar- 
ranged in the press in the same 
manner as redgrapes,with a vacant 
space for pressing. 

White marc is pressed four 
times in addition to the preHmi- 
nary one. 

As white marc has less fire than 
red, a sHghter pressure is appHed 
in order to allow it to drip thor- 
oughly. 



256 Vineyards of France 



CHAPTER VIII 
The Vine Espaliers 

ESPALIERS are among the 
main ornaments of gardens, 
either in cities or in the country. 
They clothe the walls and make 
them appear attradlive by the ver- 
dure of their branches, by the 
brightness of their flowers, and 
afterward by their fruits, which 
grow continuously until, having 
become fully ripe, they are gath- 
ered. These espaliers are both use- 
ful and decorative. 

Low walls, such as are used to 
mark boundaries, are more suit- 
able for ordinary fruit trees 



Part IV 257 

(peach trees, apricot trees, etc.). 
For vine espaliers, higher walls are 
more appropriate, especially the 
walls of buildings. The vines climb 
easily to a height of twelve and 
even fifteen feet. 

Espalier grapes being intended 
rather for the table than for the 
tub, preference is given to such 
varieties as have the pleasantest 
taste and whose berries are large, 
even though having a tougher skin. 

The main varieties used for this 
purpose are the following: first, 
Muscat, called " Frontignam. " 
The white variety is preferred to 
the red as being more palatable. 



258 Vineyards of France 

Second, another variety of white 
Muscat, called "Passe-Musque." 

The former has a full although 
shorter bunch, thickly set with 
round berries. It is recommended 
on account of its sweet and fra- 
grant juice, and furthermore for 
its fine yellow colour when ripe, 
which appeals both to the sight 
and to the palate. 

The latter has a bunch almost 
twice as long as the former. The 
berries are large and elongated; 
they are less fragrant, but sweet. 
This variety is subject to blossom 
dropping. However, if, in spite of 
this trouble, it succeeds in saving 



Part IV 259 

one-fourth of its berries, the 
bunch still appears fully set and 
fine and the berries ripen even 
better. 

Both the " Frontignam " and 
the "Passe-Musque" are used for 
making excellent jams. The latter, 
however, is preferable to the other. 
It is sweeter and has a finer fla- 
vour ; but on the other hand, the 
"Frontignam" is better if either 
sun or oven-dried. 

The quality of the wine does 
not correspond to the quality of 
the grapes. For this reason they 
are seldom used for wine making, 
and since they are suitable only 



26o Vineyards of France 

for espaliers, the cultivation of 
this variety is very much re- 
stricted. The espaliers should be 
so arranged as to have a southern 
exposure. Such an exposure al- 
lows a freer access to sunshine, 
thus enhancing the fragrance and 
colour of the grapes. 

They may also be given a 
w^estern and even an eastern ex- 
posure, but never a northern one, 
as this w^ould deprive the grapes 
of their delicious flavour. The less 
advantageous the exposure, the 
more inferior the quality of the 
berries becomes. 

These tv^o varieties are also 



Part IV 261 

used for arbors, covering either 
alleys or enclosures. Where an 
arbor is intended to cover an en- 
closure, the hornbeam, the lin- 
den tree, and the yew tree are 
preferable to the vine. 

In such a case one of the ends 
of the arbor should face the south 
and the other the north, so that 
the sides may face along their en- 
tire length, one eastward and the 
other westward, and profit by the 
sunshine for one-half of the day. 

If the ends of the arbor faced 
east and west, the north side 
would bear only tasteless grapes, 
owing to lack of sunshine. 



262 Vineyards of France 

CHAPTER IX 
Rapes 

THERE are two kinds of 
rapes. The first is made 
of berries alone, with which a 
puncheon is one-half or two- 
thirds filled and later is filled with 
wine. Some wine makers mix the 
berries with the stalks, but this 
pra6i:ice is wrong, as it is likely 
to impart the flavour of the stalks 
to the wine. 

The second kind of rape is 
made of chips and berries. The 
chips are placed first in the 
puncheons. Three or four dorsals 
of berries are then poured through 



Part IV 263 

the bunghole and the puncheon 
is afterward filled with wine. 

These rapes should be made 
by using the stronger and more 
deeply coloured grapes. For this 
reason preference is given to the 
"Samoireau" whenever it is pos- 
sible to procure this variety. 

These two kinds of rapes are 
not made outside of the wine- 
growing districts. On them are 
passed such weak wines as are 
liable to spoil, which restores the 
quality of the weak wines and 
makes them suitable for drinking. 

They are also used to obtain a 
uniform quality of wine whenever 



264 Vineyards of France 

one has in his cellar several dif- 
ferent types. For this purpose a 
puncheon or even half a punch- 
eon of each kind of wine is 
poured on the rape. 

The casks intended for this 
purpose should be made of very 
carefully selected wood, and 
should be strongly hooped and 
fitted with fixtures at each end, 
because when once placed in the 
cellar, they should not be moved 
again, as such shifting interferes 
with the clearing of the wine. 

This may be used about three 
months after vintage time. One 
begins by drawing from fifty to 



Part IV 265 

sixty pints, which is replaced by 
the wine that one wishes to treat. 
Once the rape has been started, 
the cask should be filled every 
eight days; otherwise, the chips 
nearest the bung are likely to dry 
out and even to become mouldy, 
and the rape to become spoiled. 
There is a third kind of rape, 
which is made of chips only. 
Wine merchants request this rape 
from the seller who disposes of his 
crop before vintage time. These 
rapes are used mainly by Paris 
wine dealers to impart strength 
and colour to inferior wines, and 
to make them more salable. 



266 Vinei/ards of France 

CHAPTER X 

Temperature of the Wine Cellars 

CONTINUOUS fermenta- 
tion dissipates the spirits of 
wine; it becomes weaker and 
weaker, and then spoils. 

Anything that increases this 
fermentation hastens its deterio- 
ration. Anything slowing it down 
furthers its preservation. From this 
it follows that heat is unfavourable 
to the wine, and coolness favour- 
able, as shown by experience. 

Precautions for the preserva- 
tion of the wine should be taken 
according to the universally ac- 
knowledged methods. 



Part IV 267 

The reason that wine is kept 
in cellars is because they are cool 
and— what is equally important — 
have a uniform temperature. 

The sensations one experiences 
upon entering a cellar would lead 
to the opposite conclusion. To 
become convinced of this fa6l, it is 
only necessary to look at a ther- 
mometer permanently installed in 
agood cellar at a depth of not more 
than eighteen or twenty feet be- 
low the surface. 

This will show, first, that at 
any season of the year the ther- 
mometer remains constant be- 
tween the temperate mark and the 



268 Vineyards of France 

freezing point, the variations 
scarcely exceeding seven or eight 
degrees all the year round. Sec- 
ond, that the freezing point is ap- 
proached only when the outside 
temperature is very low, and the 
moderate temperature at the time 
of the most intense summer heat. 

It results therefrom that cellars 
are actually colder in winter than 
in summer, in spite of the current 
notion that temperature varia- 
tions in cellars are the opposite of 
those of the outside air. 

It is true that one has the feel- 
ing that cellars are warm in win- 
ter and cold in summer; but this 



Part IV 269 

is misleading, and is due merely to 
an unconscious comparison with 
the outside temperature. They are 
thought cold because one has just 
left a warm atmosphere and warm 
because one has just left a colder 
temperature. 

Since the temperature in the 
cellars during the winter is higher 
than that outside, it is advisable to 
keep new wine on the ground floor 
of a barn until the end of March, 
when it may be transferred. At 
that time the temperature of the 
cellar is only slightly higher than 
that outside, thereafter becoming 
gradually lower. 



270 Vineyards of France 

In order to keep cellars cool, 
their entrances and their windows 
should face either north or east, 
never south or west. A southern 
or western exposure would de- 
stroy the coolness of the cellar by 
admitting the warm air, and thus 
injure the wine. 

The second obstacle to the pre- 
servation of the wine is the ad:ion 
of the air, which penetrates into 
the puncheons and into the casks 
when they are not carefully sealed. 
It increases natural fermentation 
and spoils the wine. 

The adion of the air is shown 
by the flowers that form on the 



Part IV 271 

surface of the wine in the vessels 
from which it is drawn daily for 
current use, and by the fad: that it 
becomes weaker as the bottom of 
the cask is reached. 

The same thing is noticed in 
bottles which have been left stand- 
ing instead of being laid down. 
The cork, even if perfectly tight, 
becomes dry and shrinks, thus af- 
fording a passage to the air, which 
causes the formation of these 
flowers and weakens the wine. If 
the bottle is laid down, the cork 
is dampened and does not shrink 
but remains perfectly tight, and 
the wine does not spoil. Corks 



272 VineT/ardf of France 



sealed with pitch offer a still better 
protedion. 

The best way to ascertain 
whether the puncheons, casks, 
etc., are tightly closed, is to press 
the knee against the head. If the 
receptacle is perfectly tight, no 
whistling sound is heard at the 
bung. Furthermore, if the con- 
tainer is well filled, no wine spouts 
from a hole driven through it by 
a bit, owing to the lack of inner 
pressure. 

Since air is injurious to wine, 
the containers should be kept as 
full as possible. They should there- 
fore be filled up from time to time 



Part IV 273 

to take the place of the wine 
which evaporates as well as of 
that which is absorbed by the 
casks themselves. It is estimated 
that each cask requires a pint 
monthly. 

Care should be taken that no 
puncheon is filled up with a 
weaker or older wine. It is better 
to give the preference to a younger 
and stronger one. Furthermore, 
the cellars should be kept perfectly 
clean and free from any corrupt- 
ing odour. 

THE END 



^'^.. „ '' i/^:/^^^B 




